Name/Title
Opening of the European & North American Railway, Vanceboro, Maine | October 19, 1871 | Stereoview PhotographDescription
OPENING OF THE EUROPEAN & NORTH AMERICAN RAILWAY, VANCEBORO, MAINE, 1871! Rare stereoview photo that just came into our collections that shows the significant ceremony held on October 19, 1871 at the northern Washington County border community of Vanceboro, Maine for the opening of the European and North American Railway. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, along with other U.S. and Canadian dignitaries, attended the event which marked the completion of the railway line connecting Bangor, Maine, to Saint John, New Brunswick. The ceremony included a luncheon, speeches, and a symbolic "last spike" moment at the border crossing between Maine and New Brunswick. Banner in the photo reads: Grand International Rail Road Opening, San Francisco, New York, Bangor, St. John, Halifax, The West Salutes the East. Photo was taken by A.K. Dole and published by C.L. Marston of Bangor, Maine.
