First spike recreation

An important moment in local and national history has been missing from the public’s memory because someone forgot to bring a camera.

On June 1, 1875 the first spike of the railway was hammered into the ground in Westfort. More than 500 people turned out to celebrate the event. It had been a rivalry between Fort William and then Prince Arthur’s Landing to see which town would become the birthplace of the Canadian dream to link the country from coast to coast.

"But no photograph was taken here and so it sort of got lost in history," Friends of First Spike Park co-ordinator Stephan Huzan said.

Getting it back into the public’s memory is exactly what Huzan’s group intends to do. Using a Toronto Globe article from the event and a recreated photograph from 1888, the group has been able to determine the spot where the first spike was hit.

Huzan said the last spike in Revelstoke, B.C. has become a national moment in time. The first spike needs to be the same.

"It was here in Thunder Bay. This is the beginning it’s a nationally important spot," Huzan said.

The group wants to recreate the event next year. And put up a plaque on the exact spot, which is just south of the pedestrian bridge near Kingston Street. Eventually they want the area to become a park.

Around 2013, there are also plans to host a festival and conference about the first spike.
Huzan said they’ve received support from all three levels of government so far.

While Thunder Bay is an important stop on the railroad, it might not have been that way.

There was also a rivalry with Nipigon to become the birthplace of the railway before the government decided on Fort William.

"Otherwise we’d be in Nipigon right now announcing the first spike.”