Promontory Point or Promontory Summit?
It’s an ever-common mix up at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, one that operations chief Tammy Benson hears often — even during the recent filming of “American Ride” at the site located west of Brigham City.
During shooting of a segment on the building of the transcontinental railroad, Benson says she overheard TV host Stan Ellsworth refer to the spot as Promontory Point, so she took a moment to explain the locale is really Promontory Summit.
“They want to get it correct, too — they don’t want their program to have misinformation,” says Benson, adding the history books are mistakenly full of references to Promontory Point, which is actually the spot where the Promontory Mountains meet the Great Salt Lake — 35 miles south of Promontory Summit.
The Golden Spike site is no stranger to folks making films, whether it’s tourism groups or college students working on projects, Benson says. But she says the “American Ride” shoot was the biggest crew the site has seen in a few years.
Having the events surrounding the driving of the golden spike in 1869 featured in a television program helps the public know more about Utah’s history, Benson says. It also gives those who may never be able to visit the historic site a feel for what happened there.
And the presence of a film crew also creates a little buzz at the railroading site, too.
“Of course, we had a whole band of people taking pictures of them taking pictures,” Benson says.
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