Craigellachie | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Craigellachie

Craigellachie, BC, is a small community located at the west entrance to Eagle Pass. Craigellachie was the place where Donald Smith drove the symbolic "last spike" in a ceremony marking the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Craigellachie, BC, is a small community located at the west entrance to Eagle Pass. Craigellachie was the place where Donald Smith drove the symbolic "last spike" in a ceremony marking the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 7 November 1885. It was named for a rocky crag in Morayshire, Scotland, where Smith grew up. The battle cry "stand fast" is associated with the Morayshire crag. Smith and fellow Scotsman George Stephen felt the need of this battle cry during the building of the scandal- and financial-plagued railway. Craigellachie was designated a national historic site in 1971.

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