After decades out of public view, the Alaska Railroad golden spike is up for auction. Will it come home?

Part of a continuing weekly series on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.

Alaska’s one true golden spike. Driven in by President Warren Harding in 1923, it ceremonially marked the completion of the Alaska Railroad, linking coast to interior. It is literally precious history. Moreover, it is symbolic, representing ingenuity and triumph through adversity. And since 1923, the spike has remained in private hands, almost exclusively hidden away from public view. That could change. This January, Christie’s auction house will offer the golden spike. Will it come home?

Most stories about railroads in Alaska end in failure, from the terrors of terrain, climate or budget. After all, the history of the Alaska Railroad begins in 1903 with the Alaska Central Railway, which made it only 50 miles out of Seward before bankruptcy in 1907. In 1914, the Alaska Railroad Act created the Alaska Engineering Commission, thus authorized to construct and oversee a new railroad into the Alaska interior. The Alaska Railroad is the direct reason there is an Anchorage. Commission officials picked Ship Creek as their headquarters over Seward and Knik, fostering the creation of a new city. Nine years later, the railroad was completed, overcoming labor strife, pandemic and world war.

The Alaska Railroad route was technically completed more than a year before Harding’s visit, on Feb. 5, 1922. That day, rail was laid at Riley Creek, linking Seward to Fairbanks. But it was not a smooth connection. There was no proper bridge at Nenana. Instead, passengers and freight headed north were ferried across the river before continuing their journey on older narrow gauge rail instead of the Alaska Railroad’s standard gauge rail. The goal was to take a seat at Seward and ride the rail all the way up, not to endure a layover and boat ride.

Railroad and territory leadership originally planned to celebrate this achievement as the historical completion of the railroad, no matter the planned improvements. Common sense, thankfully, took hold. In a January 1922 telegram, railroad engineer Frederick Mears said, “I believe the driving of the golden spike should be postponed until the visit of (Interior) Secretary Fall and President Harding next summer. The railroad and the community contiguous thereto will get much greater benefit as a result; no outsiders will come to Anchorage to witness the ceremony if the celebration is held in April.”

Incidentally, the railroad only officially became the Alaska Railroad that March, after the completion of the Riley Creek Bridge the month prior. Alaskans informally called it the Alaska Railroad or the government railroad or just the railroad. By 1922, people along the Railbelt certainly weren’t confusing it for some other railroad. Yet, the name only became bureaucratically real on March 24, 1922, by Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall’s decree.

Construction of a proper bridge at Nenana began that same spring, with excavation for its foundation starting on May 5. Laborers began erecting the steel superstructure on Aug. 29. On Feb. 27, 1923, the bridge was completed, then the longest truss bridge in the country. The process of widening the tracks to standard gauge between Nenana and Fairbanks, also necessary for that desired continuous ride from Seward, was finished in June 1923.

On May 10, 1869, a golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, to mark the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Ceremonial spikes have ever since been a popular method for marking significant moments in railroad construction. Sterling silver spikes were used in 1883 for the second transcontinental railroad, the Southern Pacific. A silver spike was created for but not used during the 1885 ceremony for the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first Canadian transcontinental railroad. A standard iron spike was used instead. A silver spike was also used to celebrate the 1908 completion of the North Island Main Trunk railway in New Zealand.

Just in Alaska, a ceremonial copper spike was driven in at Kennecott on March 29, 1911, for the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, which was built to carry copper ore from the Kennecott mines to Cordova. Near the end of April 1915, the first spike was driven for the Alaska Railroad near the shore in Anchorage. The casually attired Martha “Babe” White, chosen because she was the first settler child born in the area, swung the maul. The regular spike was instantly removed and gifted to her. And on Sept. 10, 1918, Alaska Engineering Commission Chairman William Edes drove a standard spike painted gold to mark the completion of Alaska Railroad track between Anchorage and Seward.

Still, while ceremonial spikes were the traditional choice to celebrate a railroad completion, Frank I. Reed was the first to specifically suggest such a golden spike ceremony for the Alaska Railroad. In 1921, the Anchorage councilman called for the residents along the Railbelt to work together, sharing the costs of creating a solid gold spike. While the notion was popular in Anchorage and picked up by the local chamber of commerce — when such chambers were the real local political powers — other cities failed to come through. In fact, the fateful golden spike was not specifically created to celebrate the railroad’s completion at all.

No single individual was more important to the completion of the Alaska Railroad than Frederick Mears (1878-1939). From 1906 to 1914, the career Army officer was stationed at the Panama Canal, where he was the Panama Railroad chief engineer from 1909 to 1914. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to the Alaska Engineering Commission. From 1919 to 1923, he was both chairman of the commission and the railroad’s chief engineer, its primary architect. Today, that bridge over the Tanana River is the Mears Memorial Bridge, named for Col. Frederick Mears. Its location and single-span design were his choices.

However, Mears did not get to see the railroad reach its final form. In early 1923, he was recalled to active Army duty and assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division headquarters at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington. On May 4, 1923, several hundred Anchorage residents attended a reception in his honor hosted by the Elks Lodge. Mears was presented with a 14-karat golden spike shaped precisely like the regular spikes used in railroad construction. He subsequently left Alaska and never returned.

Markus Mayer crafted the 5-1/2-inch-long spike from specific orders sent by Anchorage jeweler B. C. Nichols. Mayer himself spent time in Alaska during the Klondike gold rush and opened a jewelry store in Dawson. By 1905, he was back in Seattle, operating the long-standing jewelry firm with his brothers, Albert and Joseph. The spike bears their mark and the inscription: Presented to Col. Frederick Mears by the City of Anchorage in commemoration of the building of the Alaska Railroad 1915-1923.”

Meanwhile, President Harding was finalizing plans for his Voyage of Understanding, a combination public relations gesture, early reelection campaign, fact-finding mission, vacation and escape from the political scandals at home. Less than two weeks after Mears was honored in Anchorage, Harding publicly announced his itinerary, including the tour of Alaska. As Mears had hoped and planned for months, the president would indeed drive in a spike to commemorate the completion of the Alaska Railroad. Mears just would not be there. There also wasn’t another golden spike, so immediately after landing in Seattle, Mears generously agreed to send the gifted spike back to Alaska by the first boat north.

Harding was accompanied by his wife and an extensive entourage of reporters and dignitaries, including Commerce Secretary and future President Herbert Hoover. The Alaska portion of their adventure began in Metlakatla, followed by stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Skagway and Seward. From Seward, his party took the train to Anchorage, arriving late on July 13, 1923.

On July 14, the president was briefly allowed to control the locomotive, driving from Wasilla to Willow. After some brief instruction, he took the throttle while the first lady observed from the other side of the cab. Per the Anchorage Daily Times, “The president was described by the engineman as a good engineer, but the dining car steward as poor on stopping, as he slowed the train down with a jerk which broke eleven cups in the diner.”

In a tale as old as Alaska tourism, the press crew packed for what they thought Alaska weather would be like, which diverged sharply from reality. Adm. Hugh Rodman, also a member of Harding’s party, advised the press to dress warmly, in layers. Together, they learned about Interior Alaska summers. When they reached Fairbanks, temperatures were in the 80s. A few people in the crowd fainted. Charles Ross, later President Harry Truman’s press secretary, was there for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He claimed several reporters swore vengeance against the admiral.

The railroad ceremony occurred on July 15 at the Tanana River Bridge. Secretary of the Interior Hubert Work presided over the event and introduced the president. In his speech, he declared, “Mr. President, these steel bands you join will almost connect the Pacific Ocean with the Arctic Ocean through the Yukon.” He emphasized Mears’ contributions, stating, “It has been said that every great achievement is but the shadow of a man. This great builder has woven himself into the fabric of this railroad and enshrined in the hearts of Alaska people the name of Frederick Mears ... Colonel Mears wishes you to drive the golden spike presented to him by the people of Anchorage and drive the tie that will bind Alaska’s commercial relations to the United States and signify an empire’s pledge of loyalty to your administration.”

Alaska Gov. Scott Bone inserted the golden spike into place. Harding’s extensive entourage meant there was no room for curious Anchorage residents or reporters. Perhaps the best account of the event surprisingly comes from The New York Times, one of many Lower 48 newspapers with a representative along for the Voyage of Understanding.

From the Times: “The President lightly tapped the gold spike twice with a silver sledge hammer. Then Governor Bone quickly withdrew the spike and replaced it with one of ordinary steel ... President Harding lifted the silver sledge higher for a more substantial blow on the steel spike. He missed it. A second attempt also went wild, the hammer striking the rail of the track. Then with determination in his eye the President took good aim. This time he drove the spike nearly to its head. Another blow finished the job.” Apart from the misses, two strikes to drive a railroad spike is a strong pace, especially for a sickly 57-year-old politician. While the Times called it a sledgehammer, the tool was a spike maul, this one currently adorning an Alaska Railroad office.

Harding passed back through Anchorage on July 18 on his way to Seward. From Seward, the party sailed to Valdez, Cordova and Sitka before leaving Alaska for Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco. He did not make it back to Washington, D.C. Two days after leaving Sitka, he complained of sharp chest pains. By San Francisco, the visibly exhausted Harding had developed signs of a respiratory illness. On Aug. 2, he died from a heart attack while listening to his wife read a flattering magazine portrayal. Several conspiracy theories, from food poisoning to murder, flitted about in the days and years after his death. The only thing they share in common is a complete lack of evidence.

For decades after the driving of the golden spike, there was a more informal than not Golden Spike Veterans Club, for those employees with the railroad since its completion. By the mid-1960s, there were only two such members left. The next to last, Bertel A. Wennerstrom (1903-1988), retired in 1964. Arthur Richard “Dick” Sessions (1902-1973) was the last. He joined the railroad in 1919 as a clerk in Anchorage. In 1946, he opened the railroad’s Seattle office. And when he retired in 1965, he was the assistant to the railroad’s Seattle general manager.

The golden spike was briefly exhibited in Juneau before it returned to Mears. Despite an entreaty from Gov. Bone, Mears deservedly kept the spike for the rest of his life. He died in 1939. His wife, Jane Mears, died in 1953. She co-founded the Anchorage Women’s Club, and Mears Middle School in Anchorage is named for her. Their granddaughter Marilyn Richards, who coincidentally moved to Anchorage in the early 1970s, recalled seeing the spike at her grandparents’ Seattle home, “in a velvet-lined box.” She told the Daily Times in 1973, “I could see the hammer marks.”

After the Mearses died, Richards vaguely recalled the spike ending up with “an aunt in California.” And in 1967, the spike reentered the public sphere, notably with a California collector from outside the extended Mears family. That year, Markus Mayer Jr., son of the original craftsman, arranged for the spike to be shown as part of the Alaska centennial celebration. The city of Anchorage insured the spike for $10,000, roughly $95,000 in 2024 money. Since then, the spike has changed hands at least twice, with the current owner picking it up at an antique show in 1983. A few railroad historians and journalists eventually tracked the spike down, but the object remained hidden from view.

Christie’s will auction the golden spike on Jan. 24, 2025, part of their Americana Week featuring other rare items connected to American history. The auction estimate is for $30,000 to $50,000. Money is one thing. History and identity are another. At his acceptance speech, Mears said of the spike, “But great as its commercial value, its worth to me and my children and to my children’s children is beyond computation for it embodies the spirit of good-will and friendship from you all — my friends of long standing.” The hope here is that some individual, group or organization preserves this most actually golden piece of Alaska history in a way that makes it accessible to the public. The dream is that the golden spike comes home.

Key sources:

“Anchorage Woman is Col. Mears’ Kin.” Anchorage Daily Times, July 12, 1973, 7A.

“Arthur R. Sessions, Alaska Railroader.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 25, 1973, D5.

“Citizens Honor Colonel and Mrs. Frederick Mears.” Anchorage Daily Times, May 5, 1923, 1, 6.

“Colonel Mears Says President Surely Coming.” Anchorage Daily Times, January 25, 1922, 4.

Crittenden, Katharine Carson. Get Mears! Frederick Mears: Builder of the Alaska Railroad. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 2002.

Fitch, Edwin M. The Alaska Railroad. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1967.

“The Golden Spike.” Anchorage Daily Times, October 6, 1921, 4.

“Harding Cuts Short Visit to Far North; Goes Back to Coast.” New York Times, July 17, 1923, 1.

“Hot Day at Fairbanks.” Seattle Daily Times, July 16, 1923, 4

“Now Connected by Steel Bands.” Anchorage Daily Times, September 11, 1918, 8.

“Preliminary Work on Great Railway Project Begins.” Knik News, May 1, 1915, 1.

“President Swings Big Maul.” Anchorage Daily Times, July 21, 1923, 2.

“President Harding Mounts Can and Drives His Special Train to Willow Station from Wasilla.” Anchorage Daily Times, July 16, 1923, 1.

Prince, Bernadine LeMay. The Alaska Railroad in Pictures: 1914-1964. Anchorage, AK: Ken Wray’s Print Shop, 1964.

“Wennerstroms Head South in ‘Retirement Celebration.’” Anchorage Daily News, May 13, 1964, 5.

Wilson, William H. Railroad in the Clouds: The Alaska Railroad in the Age of Steam, 1914-1945. Boulder, CO: Pruett Publishing Company, 1977.