Northern Pacific Railroad Completion Site, 1883
The Northern Pacific Railroad Completion Site is the location of the golden spike ceremony for the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway (NP) in 1883. The site is located near Gold Creek in Powell County, Montana off of Interstate 90, approximately southeast of Missoula and west of Helena. NP, owned in 1883 by a consortium of "blind pool" investors devised by Henry Villard, was originally started by Jay Cooke. Cooke began building a transcontinental railroad route across the northern United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast in 1870. Crews built from both the eastern and western ends, progressing towards a yet undetermined meeting point somewhere in between. The two crews finally met near Independence Creek in Western Montana on August 22, 1883, which is near Gold Creek where gold was first discovered in Montana. At this point the track was connected, completing the transcontinental line; however, the "golden spike" completion ceremony would not occur until September 8, 1883. Four trains carried 300 guests from the east, including the Northern Pacific's president, Henry Villard, Chairman of the NP's Executive Committee Frederick Billings and visiting dignitaries from the United States, England, and Germany. A fifth train arrived from the west coast.