SPOKANE, Wash. – 111 years ago, Spokane railroad executives celebrated the completion of a critical railroad link by pounding a golden spike into the final railroad tie under the Monroe Street Bridge.
Now, the Spokane Historical Preservation Office, Spokane Parks and Recreation and the Jonas Babcock Chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution are hosting a “Golden Spike” memorial plaque gathering.
A gathering to celebrate the plaque and the historic event will take place on September 15, 2025 at 1 p.m. along the Centennial Trail under the Monroe Street Bridge in Kendall Yards.
The chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution secured funding to set up the plaque through a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
The golden spike originally celebrated the completion of the Ayer-Cutoff, a 105-mile section of railroad from Spokane to the southwest which shortened travel to the west coast by multiple hours and connected Spokane to a vast system of railroad, according to a release about the event by Spokane Parks and Recreation.
On the same day as the golden spike was hammered into the ground, Spokane’s Union Station train depot opened.
