TRANS-CONTINENTAL RAILROAD

The transcontinental Railroad changed America. Started in 1863 and completed in 1869. Travel across the continent was immediately shorter. Heretofore a several weeks journey became a few days. What was the motivation to undertake this monumental project?

GOLD.

Gold has been treasured for thousands of years. Gold has unique properties which makes it sought after for a variety of reasons. Gold cannot oxidate. Iron oxidates. Oxidated iron is called rust. Gold has a luster. It is soft (compared to other metals) and is easier to work with. It melts at relatively lower temperatures. It is rare and difficult to find. Gold is an exquisite conductor of electricity and is used to manufacture electronic equipment. Gold is often used as currency. People have always considered gold to be valuable because of its remarkable properties.

In 1848, at a mill under construction, gold was discovered in California. Miners staked claims to similar gold discoveries in the Siera mountains and became very wealthy. Merchants selling picks and shovels became wealthy. Merchants and services thrived. The discovery of gold in California triggered the “Gold Rush”.

California village populations increased extremely fast. New towns and cities formed as more discoveries were made. Many towns were short lived when the expected gold was not found in the vicinity. Many towns became ghost towns.

People from the east and Midwest journeyed to California to stake their claims and become rich beyond their dreams. Gold became harder to find. The easily discovered gold deposits were not enough to sustain the growth in population. Only large mining companies can afford the tools and workforces to continue mining the harder to extract gold deposits. The California gold rush was over.

(Coincidently Mexico ceded California to the United States in 1848.)

Getting to California from the East was a long, difficult and dangerous journey on foot or horseback. Traveling on ships around south America then up the west coast was a long, time-consuming journey as well which took several months. Alternatively, they sailed to Panama, crossed on foot and sailed up the West Coast.

California is a State. It is difficult to get there from most of the country. The railroad companies saw California as an opportunity to continue being profitable. Many of the people who migrated to California worked on the transcontinental railroad.

(Coincidentally the Civil War ended in 1863.)

The transcontinental Railroad changed America. Started in 1863 and completed in 1869. Farming, ranching and Business opportunities filled out the remainder of the continental United States of America.