OLD WEST FACTS

DID YOU KNOW?

1. 1776 miles of track were laid during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska!

2. On April 10, 1869, 10 miles of track was laid in ONE DAY! This outstanding achievement has not been surpassed to this day in this country.

3. Former slaves worked beside Union and Confederate soldiers during the construction of this historic rail line!

4. During the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Union Pacific trains, traveling westward, used coal as a fuel. While the Central Pacific locomotives used wood to power their engines as they headed eastbound.

5. The inscription on the golden spike that was driven in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869  reads, "May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world".

6. The ill fated Donner Party on October 9, 1846 passed nearby this site in Imlay, Nevada.  Historic Lots is offering you, for the next 99 years, this fascinating location in American History.

7. Samuel Clemens, struck by silver fever, tried his hand at prospecting in the nearby town of Unionville in 1862. Having more luck in trading mining claims than actually producing silver, he wound up leaving the area. A short time latter Clemens, changes his name to Mark Twain and becomes one of the greatest writers of American Literature.

8. Prior to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, it took about 4 months to travel from the banks of the Mississippi River along Missouri or Iowa, to northern California. As many as 200,000 people traveled this California trail seeking religious freedom, a new life or gold. It is believed that as many as 20,000 of those travelers did not survive the journey. A major decision had to be made near this site in Imlay, Nevada. Follow the Humboldt River until it disappeared in the desert. Or take a "short cut" through the Black Rock Desert, a route later nicknamed the "Death  Route". The completion of the rail line made the journey possible in less than a week and much safer.

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