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Northern Pacific Railway (NP)
First Northern Transcontinental
On July 2, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress creating the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. It would have its eastern terminus at Lake Superior and its western terminus at Puget Sound. Much of its route was to follow the route of the famed 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition across the unchartered West. Financing for the new railroad did not come about for several years, and it was not until 1870 that groundbreaking took place near Duluth, Minnesota. First stirrings of activity on the west end of the projected transcontinental began at about the same time. By 1883, only 300 miles remained between the two railheads.
Completion of the first of the northern transcontinentals was the signal for a lavish celebration at Gold Creek, Montana Territory, where tracks from the East and the West were joined on September 8, 1883. The ceremonial "last spike" was driven by former President Ulysses S. Grant and Henry Villard, president of the NP. It was the same spike used 13 years earlier to mark the beginning of construction in Minnesota.
Less than seven years later, the entire tier of northwest territories had sufficient population to join the Union. The growth and ultimate admission of these states into the Union tell a graphic story of the part played by NP in the settlement and development of the Northwest. In 1901, the NP and Great Northern jointly purchased the CB&Q, providing the two lines with direct access to Chicago and the markets of the Midwest and South. Shortly afterward, the NP and GN joined again in constructing the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, its almost 1000 miles of main line serving productive areas of Washington and Oregon.
More information about the Northern Pacific Railway Company can be found on the Additional Resources webpage.
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