Who put the last spike in the Transcontinental Railroad?
In part, the answer depends on which “last spike” you mean. Stanford did “drive” the more famous of the two ceremonial golden spikes — the one now in a safe under glass at the Stanford University Museum (“drive” is in quotes because gold is too soft to be hit with a hammer — a hole was predrilled into the ceremonial laurel wood “last tie” so that the golden “last spike” could be dropped in — the main purpose of the hammer was to complete the telegraph circuit to signal the event). There were also several silver last spikes. If by “last spike” you mean the permanent last iron spike driven into the permanent tie that remained in place at the end of the day, then the answer is that one of the CPRR Chinese workers probably drove the last spike. See the definitive article on this subject, published by the California Historical Society, “Driving the Last Spike at Promontory, 1869.” by J. N. Bowman, 1957.
