TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — This Saturday, head downtown for the 2025 Silver Spike Railroad Jubilee. It’s the 145th anniversary of the arrival of the first train to Tucson. The annual event is put on by the Southern Arizona Transportation Museum, which is also celebrating 20 years.
The 2025 Silver Spike Railroad Jubilee is a celebration of Tucson’s diverse culture, honoring the legacy of our influential figures and the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880.
On March 20, 1880, Estevan Ochoa was chosen to present a silver spike from the Toughnut Mine to the Southern Pacific president to thank him for extending the railroad to Tucson.
This Saturday, descendants of those who participated in the first train’s arrival like Ochoa will re-enact that very moment.
“I'm very excited because we’ve been doing this every year since 2005," said Ken Karrels, Southern Arizona Transportation Museum director.
There will be a dedication to a mural called The Arrival of the Railroad painted by local artist Bill Singleton. Singleton says it took months of preparation to get everything right.
“It's really a historical illustration. So, a lot of research, yeah, everything has to be accurate. You know, the train's got to be the correct train, the clothing for the people," Singleton said. "And then I did a lot of research on getting all the ethnicities.”
The 1,000-square-foot mural has three panels. The first is dedicated to the Chinese workers who built the railroad.
“That one depicts them coming past Picacho Peak and they had a camp that they moved with them. A little city of Chinese workers that moved along with it," Singleton described.
The second shows the arrival of the first train in 1880 and lastly, the booming tourism industry of the 1960s. Singleton says he made sure everyone was represented on his mural.
“Tucson has always been a melting pot and back then too, you can see it. You know, so there's the Chinese workers, there's local Tohono O’odham and Yaqui, Mexican, Mexican-Americans, Anglo-Americans," Singleton said.
The free event is on Saturday at 10 a.m. at 414 N. Toole Ave. More details are here.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
