Q. Is it true that more than one spike was involved in the ceremony celebrating the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway? Where are these spikes today?
A. You've hit the nail right on the head: Technically, there were actually three spikes connected to the proceedings when railway officials and workers gathered at Craigellachie, British Columbia on November 7, 1885 to mark the end of the massive railway-building project.
As we told you in our first Great Canadian Trivia Book, a silver spike was made for the ceremony but was never used. There were also two iron spikes. The first was bent when Donald Smith, a.k.a. Lord Strathcona, attempted to drive it into the railway tie; the second was driven into the tie but didn't stay in place very long.
First, the bent spike: It was retrieved as a souvenir by Smith. He had a portion of it shaved off and ringed with diamonds as a gift for his wife Bella, Canadian author Donna McDonald says in her book "Lord Strathcona, A Biography of Donald Alexander Smith." But in his book The Last Spike, author Pierre Berton says a number of women - all wives of men who attended the ceremony - were recipients of the jewellry Smith made. And when several other ladies complained they did not receive souvenirs, Smith had another spike cut up for similar souvenirs, writes Berton.
Second, the spike that went into the ground: Once dignitaries left, it was removed by CPR roadmaster Frank Brothers who was afraid souvenir hunters would tear up his track. It was later presented to Edward Beatty, then president of the CPR.
So where are these spikes today?
The original last spike - the one that was bent - is part of the collection at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, says David Monaghan, the museum's Curator of Land Transportation. It is four to five-inches long, is cracked and clearly shows where Lord Strathcona had pieces shaved away for jewelry. The spike is occasionally on display and has been lent to other museums. It was donated to the museum in 1985 by descendants of Lord Strathcona in honour of the CPR's centenary celebrations.
The silver spike has been mounted on a marble base to be used as a paperweight and is in Toronto, owned by descendants of the family of Cornelius Van Horne, president of the CPR and general manager of the railway during its construction.
To this day, no one knows where the spike that was driven into the ground ended up. Monaghan has heard rumours that it is owned by someone in the Yukon Territory.