Golden Spike
- Exit 310 off Interstate 70 in Strasburg
Forget Promontory point in Utah, the first
transcontinental railroad was completed by
Kansas Pacific Railroad crews at Comanche
Crossing, Colorado, now called Strasburg, on
Aug. 15, 1870.
Two crews laid 10 miles of track in 10
hours, all for the glory of the Kansas Pacific
and a barrel of rum.
The depot was moved in 1970 to the
Comanche Crossing Historical Museum,
56060 E Colfax Ave., but the spot is marked in
Lion’s Park, off Railroad Avenue.
Don’t worry, Strasburg is small and asking
at any business can get you directions.
However, there isn’t much else to do aside
from cycling, so plan on seeing the spike during
Hometown Days on the weekend closest
to Aug. 15, when people recreate the joining
of the rails.
Hometown Days also has a parade, chili
cook-off, 5 K run and walk, car show, quilt
show and a variety of other events.
The Comanche Crossing Museum has two
relocated school buildings, a barn, a caboose,
a mock barbershop and soda fountain, and
has the press from the Eastern Colorado
News, which has published weekly since
1916. The museum is open in summer, from
1-4 p.m., June through August.
The one hotel in town, the Strasburg Inn,
has nine rooms, one with a private bath. Built
in 1915, it once served railroad workers as a
rooming house.
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