Utah, United States of America (Geographic Keyword)

DOCUMENT Citation Only Michael R. Polk.

Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad portion of the Transcontinental Railroad relied heavily on labor by young overseas Chinese men who were hired and transported from southern China to the mountains and deserts of California, Nevada and Utah over a few months' time. Construction of the railroad predated widespread use of steam driven excavation machinery, thus the railroad largely depended on the manual labor of these men. Often working in extreme conditions, many workers died along the...