Golden Alaska Railroad spike to return to state
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A piece of Alaska history will return to the state.
The Anchorage Museum, along with the City of Nenana, bought a special railroad spike at a Christie’s auction for $200,000. The auction house originally estimated the spike’s value to be between $30,000 and $50,000.
The spike is made of 14-karat gold and is rich with history.
It was a ceremonial spike meant to symbolize the completion of the Alaska Railroad. In 1923, President Warren G. Harding opened the railroad in Nenana by driving the spike into the track.
Harding was the first U.S. President to visit the then-Territory of Alaska. The New York Times recorded the event, saying the gold spike was tapped twice with a silver sledgehammer, then replaced with a normal spike, which the president failed to hit on the first two attempts.
The spike had been owned by several private owners after being gifted to Col. Frederick Mears in 1923 for his help in making the Alaska railroad a reality.
The spike will now have two homes; one at the Anchorage Museum and one in Nenana.
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