# Canonical recap data for First Transcontinental Telegraph Message (1858)
# Source: https://recap.at/1858/transcontinental-telegraph
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: transcontinental-telegraph
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1858/transcontinental-telegraph"
title: First Transcontinental Telegraph Message
subtitle: The first successful telegraph message across North America demonstrated continental-scale electrical communication and fundamentally reshaped information networks.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1858-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1858
decade: 1850
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: America's first transcontinental railroad was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. The rail line was built by three private compan
summaryLong: America's first transcontinental railroad was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive U.S. land grants. Building was financed by both state and U.S. government subsidy bonds as well as by company-issued mortgage bonds. The Western Pacific Railroad Company built 132 miles (212 km) of track from the road's western terminus at Alameda/Oakland to Sacramento, California. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California (CPRR) constructed 690 miles (1,110 km) east from Sacramento to Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. The Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) built 1,085 miles (1,746 km) from the road's eastern terminus at the Missouri River settlements of Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska, westward to Promontory Summit.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg/1280px-First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Unknown author Unknown author · via Wikipedia
importance: 78
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad"
  title: First transcontinental railroad
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: America's first transcontinental railroad was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U
wikidataQid: Q1753108
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260628213526/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-28
  label: First transcontinental railroad
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad"
