Utah gets $1.5M donation as it unveils more plans for new golden spike monument
Apr 12, 2024, 6:00 AM
A rendering showing what the new Golden Spike State Monument will look like when it's completed. Golden Spike Foundation officials said Thursday that construction is expected to begin and end in 2025. - Golden Spike Foundation
SALT LAKE CITY — Utahns may have to wait another year to view a 43-foot replica of the famous golden spike that was driven in Utah 155 years ago to signal the completion of the transcontinental railroad at its final home.
However, when people do see it raised in place — likely in the spring of 2025 — it will be at the site of a brand-new state monument in Brigham City dedicated to celebrating the historic event in state history. The site will include a welcome center that could open by the end of 2025, according to Doug Foxley, chairman of the Golden Spike Foundation, the organization that commissioned the statue and set up the groundwork for a new state park.
Project officials provided the new details during a ceremony at the Utah Capitol on Thursday morning, which ended with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson ceremonially signing SCR6 — the bill that designates Golden Spike State Monument. Gov. Spencer Cox, who officially signed the bill last month, typically holds the ceremonial bill signing but canceled his appearance as his wife, First Lady Abby Cox, recovers from surgery earlier this week.
The new park will be located on about 8 acres of land in Brigham City near the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge visitor center and I-15. It will house a 43-foot, 8,000-pound replica of the famous golden spike created by Kentucky artist Douwe Blumberg. The large statue was unveiled for the first time in Kentucky in October before it went on a multistate tour, ending with it being hauled up to the Utah Capitol.
Read the rest of the story on KSL.com
Related: West Valley Students want to bring the Golden Spike back home
