In addition, numerous communities were established along the rail belt, some of which still thrive today.īesides being the only sitting President to visit the park, Warren Harding was involved with several important decisions regarding the park’s early history. The railroad was significant for Alaska’s economic development as various extraction industries could finally access markets faster and more efficiently. Marguerite Bone Wilcox Collection, Alaska State Library, ASL-P70-85 Karstens is standing behind and to the right of Hoover Commerce Secretary (and future President) Herbert Hoover is on the right. President Harding driving the Golden Spike. The interior railroad gave (and continues to give) tourists the opportunity to visit one of the country’s most beautiful and unique landscapes. Due to the Alaska Railroad project, conservationists Charles Sheldon, Belmore Browne, and others worked urgently to get the national park established and funded. At the same time, the park was irrelevant to Congress if tourists could not access it. The development of Interior Alaska threatened the wildlife the park was established to protect. The Alaska Railroad was a mixed blessing for Mount McKinley National Park. The final two major projects needed to complete the railroad were the 900-foot-long bridge at Riley Creek, completed in February of 1922, and the 700-foot-long bridge at Nenana, completed in February of 1923. The rail line between Seward and Fairbanks broke ground in 1915, and when it was finally finished in 1923, it spanned nearly 470 miles. The completion of the government-owned Alaska Railroad was no small engineering feat. President Harding driving Golden Spike at Nenana on July 15, 1923ĬIHS Collection, Anchorage Museum, AMRC-B75-134-186 The Alaska Railroad and the National Park Before arriving in Nenana, Harding stopped at McKinley Park Station and became the first-and only-sitting president in history to visit Denali National Park (then called Mount McKinley National Park). On July 15, 1923, President Warren Harding drove the “Golden Spike” at Nenana, signifying the completion of the interior Alaska Railroad.
Golden Spike National Historical Park in Utah was designated to tell this important part of American History, but Alaska has its own “Golden Spike” story that occurred in 1923, one in which Mount McKinley National Park had a role.
The railroad revolutionized transportation and expedited the development of the Western United States. In May, 2019, the National Park Service celebrated the 150 th anniversary of the “Golden Spike” which signified the completion of America’s first transcontinental railroad in 1869. The bridge was the final piece connecting the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Fairbanks President Warren Harding and First Lady Florence Harding inspect a model of the Tanana River Bridge in 1923.
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