Commemorating Everyone’s Contributions

On September 5, 1876, at Lang Station in Canyon Country, Southern Pacific Railroad President Charles Crocker drove a golden spike connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco by rail, completing the transcontinental railroad circuit.
About 147 years (and a day) later, a hiker came to the Santa Clarita History Center to report that two commemorative plaques had been removed from their pedestals near the historic station site where he regularly walks.
The hiker surmised that it was another strike by vandals at our precious landmarks.
Fortunately, this story has a happy ending.
The plaques in question were installed in 1976. One honors the work of the thousands of Chinese workers who built the Southern Pacific and San Fernando tunnels, and the second commemorates the site by the fraternal organization E Clampus Vitus.
Both plaques have been carefully removed by the City of Santa Clarita for relocation at the new Vista Canyon Metrolink station, which is being built on the east side of the 14 freeway between Sand Canyon and Via Princessa. A third plaque, placed by California State Parks in 1957 near the original Lang Station site will be moved in the future.
“The proposed new location will offer the community to view the Landmark and reflect on the historical significance of the Santa Clarita Valley to state and transcontinental rail interconnectivity,” wrote Eugene Moy, President of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.
Thousands of Chinese laborers were hired in 1874 to build rail and tunnels, working north from Los Angeles and south from San Francisco, destined to meet in the middle at Lang Station. Despite the back-breaking work of the Chinese crews to complete the project, a team of Caucasian workers were hired to complete the last 1,000 feet of rail.
At the golden spike ceremonies in 1876, the Chinese workers were not acknowledged. A century later, the historic error was corrected and the plaque from the Chinese Historical Society was placed.
The Vista Canyon Metrolink Station will also feature a permanent art installation by an Asian American artist that tells the story of the railroad and the Chinese workers. It will be unveiled at the ribbon cutting later this year. It is hoped that this new location will allow thousands of people will learn about Lang Station and the multicultural forces that came together to create this historic site. Learn more at www.scvhistory.com.