The Last Spike

Donald Alexander Smith driving the last spike at Criagellachie, November 7, 1885

This famous picture of Donald Alexander Smith was taken when he was 65 years old. That day the workers had finished the last mile of track and Donald, in absence of the railway's president, was to drive the last spike. It was an ordinary iron spike, same as every other used on the railway. Everyone crowded around to watch, Donald swung the maul... and missed and bent the nail. On his second try, with gentler taps, he succeeded in driving the nail home.

"The engineers, the workmen, every one present, appeared deeply impressed by what was taking place. It was felt by all to be the moment of triumph. The central figure - the only one at the moment of action - was more than the representative of the railway company. His presence recalled memories of the Mackensies, Frasers, Finlaysons, Thompsons, McLeods, MacGillivrays, Stuarts, MacTavishes and MacLoughlins, who , in a past generation had penetrated the surrounding mountains." (McDonald, 326).

There was silence for a moment or two and then a spontaneous cheer echoed through Craigellachie. Just two and a half days later, Donald Alexander Smith was back in Montreal, completing a journey that had taken him two weeks fifteen years before. He carried a bent railway spike in his pocket.

Works cited:

The Last Spike Picture from The Atlas of Alberta Railway, University of Alberta Press 2005.

MacDonald, Donna Lord Strathcona: A Biography of Donald Alexander Smith Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, 1996.