page_title: Oakes Ames
section_title: Honors
hierarchical_section_title: Oakes Ames / Honors
caption_attribution_description: Maquette of Oakes Ames (1804-1873), industrialist and philanthropist, North Easton, Massachusetts, USA. This sculpture is located in the Easton Historical Society; it was made by "EB, North Easton" in the early 1870s. It is unclear if this portrait was ever covered by copyright, but if so the copyright has long since expired.
context_page_description: Oakes Ames was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being the single most important influence in the building of the Union Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad. He is also noted for the subsequent scandal that alleged the improper sale of stock of the railroad's construction company.
context_section_description: The contributions of Ames and his brother Oliver in the building of the Union Pacific are commemorated in the Oliver and Oakes Ames Monument at Sherman Summit, near Laramie, Wyoming, along the original route. The pyramidal monument was designed by famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson (who designed a number of projects for the Ames family) with sculpted plaques of the Ames brothers by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. At the time of its construction, the monument was located at the highest point attained by the UP's transcontinental route.  With a change in the route of the railroad, the monument today is not on any major transportation route.
  The city of Ames, Iowa is named for Oakes, as is likely the community of Ames, Nebraska. The public high school in Easton, Massachusetts is named Oliver Ames High School.
caption: Oakes Ames
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