History

2022

May 2023

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Visit https://www.census.gov/history every month for the latest Census History Home Page!

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U.S. Census Bureau History: The Transcontinental Railroad

After 6 years of construction, Central Pacific Railroad President Leland Stanford drove a ceremonial golden spike connecting the
1,912-mile-long Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads' tracks at Promontory Summit, UT. The railroads completion meant passengers
and freight could cross the United States in days instead of months.

Photo courtesy of the National Parks Services.

On May 10, 1869, Central Pacific Railroad President Leland Stanford used a silver hammer to drive a ceremonial golden rail spike that completed the 1,912-mile-long Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads' tracks at Promontory Summit, UT. The ceremony marked the opening of the United States' first transcontinental railroad. The 6-year construction project opened huge swaths of the United States to settlement and reduced the average travel time between New York City, NY, and San Francisco, CA, from months in 1860 to just 7 days by 1870.

In the centuries before completion of the first transcontinental railroad, explorers searched for a fast and convenient route across North America connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and speeding trade between Europe and East Asia. Their surveys were instrumental in mapping the continent's coastlines and major rivers, but an easily navigable and ice-free route proved elusive. When the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the 828,000 square miles of newly-acquired land. A primary task for their "Expedition of Discovery" was to map land and river routes westward and perhaps locate a water route to the Pacific Ocean following the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, their tributaries, or a yet-to-be discovered waterway.

Lewis and Clark did not find the fabled passage to the Pacific, but thousands of migrants used their maps to move to the western United States in search of economic opportunity, freedom, and land. Following some of the same paths travelled by Lewis and Clark, settlers followed Mormon Church leader Brigham Young to Salt Lake City, UT; rushed to California following news of gold strikes near Sacramento; and settled the American West and Pacific Northwest to prospect, farm and trade. Despite the promise of riches and open space, there was no quick way to travel between the east and west coasts of the United States in the mid-19th century. Wagon trains leaving St. Louis, MO, averaged 12-14 miles a day and took more than 6 months to plod along the Oregon Trail to Oregon City, OR, or reach El Dorado County, CA, following the California Trail. Sailing between New York City, NY, and San Francisco, CA, (rounding South America or stopping at Panama, crossing the isthmus by foot, and boarding another ship to California) could take 6 months and cost more than many factory workers earned in a year. Even nonstop stagecoach service that began in 1858 cost $200 per person—approximately $5,000 in 2023—to cover the 2,800-mile route between St. Louis and San Francisco.

In 1853, U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis commissioned the Pacific Railroad Surveys to "ascertain the most practical and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean." Under the direction of Brevet Captain George B. McClellan, the U.S Army Corps of Topographical Engineers surveyed potential routes. When the South seceded from the Union at the beginning of the American Civil War, they could no longer lobby for a transcontinental route through the southern United States. In 1862, Congress settled on a route between St. Louis, MO, and Sacramento, CA, and passed the Pacific Railroad Act guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads to build the transcontinental line.

Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad's track began at a ceremony in Sacramento, CA, on January 8, 1863. As the Central Pacific's laborers began working, it became abundantly clear how important a transcontinental rail route was to the western United States. Although lumber for rail ties and bridges came from California's forests, nearly all the manufactured materials and equipment needed to construct a railroad was shipped from the east coast of the United States and took months to arrive in San Francisco. Despite transportation delays, the Central Pacific's Chinese laborers—more than 80 percent of its workforce—ascended the Sierra Nevada Mountains and reached Donner Pass (elevation 7,057 feet) in August 1867 and Reno, NV, in June 1868. In the final year of construction, Central Pacific crews lay approximately 560 miles of track between Reno, NV, and Promontory Summit, UT, including a single-day record of more than 10 miles of track on April 28, 1869.

The Union Pacific Railroads construction eastward from the Mississippi River began more slowly. Following its December 2, 1863 , groundbreaking ceremony in Omaha, NE, financing issues and a labor shortage due to the American Civil War forced the Union Pacific to delay most construction until the conflict ended. In July 1865, Union Pacific workers—largely Irish American Civil War veterans—began laying track on the eastern shore of the Mississippi River from Council Bluffs, IA, and Omaha, NE, on the river's western shore. Trains were ferried or crossed the frozen river by sleigh until the completion of the Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge in 1872. The Union Pacific track followed the path of earlier wagon routes westward, laying a mile or more of track a day by 1866. Crews reached Cheyenne, WY, in December 1867; conquered the railways highest point at Sherman Summit (elevation 8,204 feet) in April 1868; arrived in Evanston, WY in December 1868; and tunneled and blasted their way through the Wasatch Mountains to reach Ogden, UT, in March 1869.

On May 10, 1869, hundreds of Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad officials, dignitaries, and weary laborers gathered for a ceremonial joining of the tracks at Promontory Summit, UT. Chinese rail workers (including Ging Cui, Wong Fook, and Lee Shao) heaved the last rail into place shortly after noon. Each hammer blow was transmitted to excited crowds gathered outside telegraph offices throughout the United States. The Union Pacific's No. 119 and Central Pacific's No. 60 "Jupiter" locomotives inched towards each other as the last rail was fastened to its ties. A polished California laurel railroad tie, 17.6 karat gold spike, and silver hammer were prepared to celebrate the railway's completion. Central Pacific president Leland Stanford drove the ceremonial "last" golden rail spike into place as the word "DONE" was telegraphed to jubilant crowds nationwide. The gold spike was quickly replaced and now resides at Stanford University's Cantor Arts Museum. The polished laurel railroad tie was lost to fire following the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

After years of arduous, back-breaking labor, the transcontinental railroad made it possible to transport passengers and freight between the east and west coasts in just 7 days. Eight years later, a Transcontinental Express sped passengers from New York City, NY, to San Francisco, CA, in an astonishing 83 hours! Today, Interstate 80 roughly traces the route of the transcontinental railroad as motorist drive between Teaneck, NJ, and San Francisco, CA, in approximately 43 hours. Blinding blizzards, steep mountain elevations, and baking deserts were not a problem for the first transcontinental commercial flights that began shuttling passengers between New York City and Los Angeles, CA, in January 1959. Air passengers now regularly fly between Newark, NJ; New York City, NY; and Miami, FL, to western destinations like Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; or Los Angeles, CA, in 6 hours. Nostalgic railroad enthusiasts can still enjoy leisurely cross-country travel, though. After boarding Amtrak's Capital Limited in Washington, DC, passengers pass through Pittsburgh, PA, and Cleveland, OH, before arriving in Chicago, IL, 18 hours later. Next, passengers board the California Zephyr departing Chicago. After passing through Omaha, NE, the route travels along the same path as the first transatlantic railroad. Passengers proceed through Salt Lake City, UT, and arrive in Emeryville, CA, in 52 hours.

Railroads may no longer be the fastest way for passengers to cross the United States, but they continue to play an indispensable role in our nation's economy. In March 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the nation's railroads employed approximately 149,400 people. These employees of the nation's seven Class I railroads (railroads with operating revenues of $490 million or more), 22 regional, and hundreds of local/short line railroads move around 1.7 billion tons of freight over 140,000 miles of track annually, according to the Association of American Railroads.

You can learn more about the transcontinental railroad and our nation's railways using census data and records. For example:

• Population growth and economic activity followed construction of the transcontinental railroad. For example:
• The Union Pacific Railroad selected a Dakota Territory site along Crow Creek for its headquarters in July 1867. Residents incorporated the area as Cheyenne on August 8, 1867. The city's population grew from just 132 residents in 1870 to 11,690 in 1890—the same year that it became the capital of the newly admitted state of Wyoming. Today, Cheyenne is the largest city in Wyoming with 65,132 people calling the "Magic City of the Plains" home.
• The "Junction City" of Ogden in the Utah Territory grew quickly as passengers and freight carried by a number of railroads, including the Union Pacific, Central Pacific, Utah Northern, Utah Central, Southern Pacific, and Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroads converged on the city. Settled in 1840, Ogden had a population of 1,463 in 1860. One year after the transcontinental railroad's arrival, the 1870 Census counted 3,127 people in the city. Four years after Utah's statehood, the 1900 Census counted 16,313 people in the city. Today, Odgen, UT, is home to 87,321 residents.
• Established as rail station town in 1868, Reno, NV, became a major freight terminal and largest city between Sacramento, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT. The "Biggest Little City in the World" has enjoyed continuous growth since the railroad's arrival. In 1870, there were 1,035 people in Reno. The city's population grew to 4,500 in 1900; and 32,497 in 1950. With a population of 264,165 in 2020, Reno was Nevada's third largest city behind Las Vegas (641,903) and Henderson (317,610).
• As Americans moved west, so too did the nation's center of population. The Census Bureau's concept of the center of population is the point at which the 50 states (or 48 conterminous states for calculations made prior to 1960) and the District of Columbia would balance if weights of identical size were placed on it so that each weight represented the location of one person. In 1790, the nation's center of population was located in Kent County, MD; it moved to west Loudoun County, VA, in 1810; and Wirt County, WV, in 1850. Between 1860 and 1880, the center of population moved from Pike County, OH, to Boone County, KY—a distance of approximately 145 miles. By 1900, the population balancing point was located another 100 miles west in Bartholomew County, IN. Following the 2020 Census, the nation's center of population was identified as being in Hartville, MO, as 7 of the nation's 10 largest cities (Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; Phoenix, AZ; San Antonia, TX; San Diego, CA; Dallas, TX; and San Jose, CA) are now located west of the Mississippi River.
• Thousands of Chinese immigrants came to the United States in the mid-1800s: first to work in gold mines during the California Gold Rush and later to build the transcontinental railroad. Approximately 12,000 Chinese laborers provided the grueling manual labor to dig, cut, and blast the railroad's path across the nation. "Chinese" was first included as a race category in the 1860 Census. Between 1860 and 1870, the number of people reported as Chinese grew from 34,933 to 63,254. Many Chinese laborers and their families remained near the railroad and mines they built. By 1880, the United States was home to 105,465 Chinese, with the largest populations in California (75,132) and Oregon (9,510). With a population of 5,416, the Chinese were Nevada's largest foreign-born population in 1880.
• Nine years before the completion of the transcontinental railroad, William H. Russell, Alexander Majors, and William B. Waddell founded the Pony Express to move letters and telegrams between St. Joseph, MO, and Sacramento, CA. Inaugurated on April 3, 1860, the Pony Express left St. Joseph, MO, and arrived in Sacramento, CA, about 10 days later. The company employed hundreds of employees and riders, including stock tender and western gunslinger "Wild Bill" Hickok and legendary rider Robert "Pony Bob" Haslam who completed a 380-mile, uninterrupted round trip between Friday's Station (in present-day Stateline, NV), and Cold Springs Stations, NV in just 2 days. Unlike Haslam's record ride, most deliveries were carried by relay riders between regularly spaced stations. Some of these Pony Express stations were located in Kearney, NE, Fort Laramie, Casper, and Fort Bridger, WY, Salt Lake City, UT; Carson City, NV, and Folsom, CA. Dwindling profits and the completion of the first transcontinental telegraph line on October 24, 1861 forced the Pony Express to cease operations just 2 days later.
• The U.S. Census Bureau first collected detailed statistics on transportation—including steam railroads, steamboat companies, and incorporated express companies—in 1880. With a particular emphasis on railroads, the census incorporated specially-designed questionnaires that asked hundreds of questions to collect data on the railroads' financial and physical characteristics. Data published in the 1883 Report on the Agencies of Transportation in the United States, showed that total railroad track mileage built and completed grew from 39.8 miles in 1830 to 20,198.99 miles in 1855 and reached 87,801.42 miles at the time of the 1880 Census. Total permanent investment for track, equipment, building, land, etc., by railroad companies in the United States was nearly $5.2 billion at the time of the census. In 1880, the giant New York Central and Hudson River Railroad Co., had assets of more than $121.6 million from construction, $19.5 million in equipment, nearly $1.2 million in land, more than $1.7 million in cash, and total liabilities (including stock, loans, dividends, etc.) of $149.4 million.
• The 1890 Census expanded coverage of rail transportation by collecting data from cities' rapid-transit facilities, including railways powered by animals, cable, and electricity. The August 23, 1890, Census Bulletin: Transportation—Rapid Transit in Cities reported that the 286 street railroads responding to the census had a total length of 3,150.93 miles. Animals (usually horses) powered 2,351.10 miles of the nation's passenger transit systems—approximately 74 percent. Other modes of power reported in 1890 included electricity (260.36 miles), cables (255.87 miles), and steam (283.6 miles). Philadelphia, PA, led the nation for total rail line length with 283.47 miles, followed by Boston, MA, with 200.86 miles, and Chicago, IL, with 181.78 miles.
• The Census Bureau conducted its first census of street and electric railways in 1902. Data showed that between 1890 and 1902, the number of street and electric railways grew from 789 to 987. The number of fare passengers grew from 2,023,010,202 in 1890 to 4,774,211,904 in 1902. One of the greatest changes in the 12 years between the 1890 and 1902 railway censuses was the way systems powered their railways. In 1890, animals (usually horses) powered railcars on 4,061.94 line miles while electricity powered 914.25 line miles. By 1902, electricity powered 16,230.62 line miles compared to just 195.21 line miles using animals; 113.93 line miles using cable; and 111.82 line miles using steam. Additional data and historical information about the construction and growth of the nation's street and electric railways are available in the Census Bureau's Street and Electric Railways Part 1 and Part 2.
• The Census Bureau's report Commuting by Public Transportation in the United States: 2019 featured data collected from the American Community Survey. Data from the survey's question, "How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK?" showed that 5 percent of workers 16 years and over (7,778,444) used public transportation, including: 3,601,403 taking the bus; 2,935,633 riding the subway or elevated rail; 921,391 boarding long-distance train or commuter rail; and 242,776 commuting by light rail, streetcar, or trolley.
• Forty-four years after workers celebrated the completion of the transcontinental railroad, automotive entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher and the Lincoln Highway Association dedicated the first transcontinental highway across the United States at an October 31, 1913, ceremony. The 3,389 mile Lincoln Highway passed through 13 states as it connected New York City, NY, and San Francisco, CA. Much of the Lincoln Highway became U.S. Route 30 after the establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926. Today, the 2,901 mile-long Interstate 80 (I-80) between Teaneck, NJ, and San Francisco, CA, is one of the primary cross-country highways and closely follows the path of the nearby Lincoln Highway. Other "transcontinental highways" include the 3,021 mile-long I-90 between Seattle, WA, and Boston, MA; U.S. Route 20 which spans 3,365 miles between Newport, OR, and Boston, MA; and the 2,460 mile-long I-10 connecting Santa Monica, CA, and Jacksonville, FL.
• When the Transatlantic Railroad opened in 1869, passengers could travel from New York City, NY, to Sacramento, CA, in about 7 days. In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson completed the first transcontinental automobile trip between San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY in 63 1/2 days. Six years later, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey became the first woman to make the cross-country trek, completing the road trip in 59 days. U.S. Army Air Service pilots Lt. John A. Macready and Lt. Oakley G. Kelly completed the first transcontinental flight during a 27-hour crossing on May 2–3, 1923, between Roosevelt Field, Mineola, NY, and Rockwell Field in San Diego, CA. American Airlines began a scheduled 4 to 6 hour passenger route between Los Angeles, CA, and Idlewild Airport in Queens County, NY, on January 25, 1959. Today, automobile drivers can cross the United States using the Interstate Highways in 43 hours; Amtrak passengers can ride the rails from Washington, DC, to Emeryville, CA, in 70 hours; and air passengers can fly from coast to coast in less than 6 hours.

A map of the actual and proposed routes for the transcontinental railroad between Council Bluffs, IA, and Salt Lake City, UT. In addition to mapping the route, the survey includes a visualization of the grades
the railroad's builders had to contend with as the transcontinental railroad departed Omaha, NE; crossed the Black Hills to its highest point at Sherman Summit in Albany County, WY; passed Laramie, WY; scaled the
Wasatch Mountains to its second-highest point in Uinta County, WY; descended to Evanston, WY; passed Salt Lake City; climbed Promontory Mountain in Box Elder County, UT (where workers celebrated the railroads
completion on May 10, 1869); and drove westward to the Humboldt Mountains.

Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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Did you know?

On May 1, 1893, President Grover Cleveland opened the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

The fair showcased the city of Chicago, IL, just 22 years after the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and featured many awe-inspiring exhibits.

Herman Hollerith's won a bronze medal for his display of electronic tabulators staffed by Census Bureau employees processing 1890 Census data. The award is one of many awards Census Bureau exhibits have won at World's Fairs, expositions, and trade shows.

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Subways

Boston, MA, opened the first subway in the United States on September 1, 1897.

Boston's first underground rail line traveled through the Tremont Street Tunnel, and millions of the city's "T" passengers continue to travel through it every month.

Seven years after Boston's subway opened to the public, residents of New York City, NY, began commuting aboard the city's first subway. New York's "Manhattan Main Line" opened on October 27, 1904, and transported riders nine miles between New York's City Hall in Lower Manhattan and Harlem's 145th Street in Upper Manhattan. The transit system proved so popular among New Yorkers that it quickly expanded to become the largest subway system in the United States by both length and ridership.

After more than a century of operation, New York's 248-mile-long subway system carries 1.7 billion passengers annually.

Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL, are home to the nation's second and third largest subway systems, respectively. In 2019, Washington's 117-mile Metro carried nearly 238 million passengers, while Chicago's 102.8-mile "L" carried more than 218 million.

Puerto Rico is home to one of the shortest subway systems in the United States. The 10.7-mile Tren Urbano system opened in 2004, and serves 16 stations in the municipalities of San Juan, Guaynabo, and Bayamon.

Hawaii's Honolulu Rail Transit (HART) is the nation's newest subway system, with the first segment and stations scheduled to open in July 2023.

Passengers will initially be able to travel between East Kapolei and the Halawa/Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HI. In the years to come, HART will extend from East Kapolei to Honolulu's Ala Moana shopping center, with stops near Pearl Harbor, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, and Iolani Palace—the home of Hawaii's last monarch Lili'uokalani.

Photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

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This Month in Census History

Since the 1800s, the U.S. Census Bureau has prioritized hiring a diverse workforce, including many Asian and Pacific Americans. Many of these employees made significant contributions to census operations and our nation. For example, soon after helping count Guam's population in 1940, Agueda Iglesias Johnston served her country again by resisting the Japanese occupation of the island during World War II.

Three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, HI, Guam's naval governor George J. McMillin ceded control of the U.S. territory to Japan. Risking severe punishment and even execution, Agueda Johnston and many other Chamorros resisted the island's Japanese occupiers. Between December 1941 and August 1944, Johnston shared war news from the illegal radio she secretly listened to every night.

The Johnston family store supplied neighbors with dry goods and groceries. They even accepted U.S. dollars despite strict rules against the use of the currency.

Most notably, Johnston and others helped hide and feed George Ray Tweed—the only American serviceman to survive and avoid capture by the Japanese during their December 1941 invasion of Guam. Japanese soldiers arrested and tortured Johnston, but she refused to divulge Tweed's location. Tweed remained safely hidden until being rescued in July 1944.

After the war, Johnston was a dedicated educator to Guam's children and she was inducted into the Guam Educator's Hall of Fame in 1982.

Photo courtesy of the Guam Museum.

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Visit https://www.census.gov/history every month for the latest Census History Home Page!