Charles Marsh (railroad builder)

He was a surveyor and worked with Theodore D. Judah to survey and evaluate various possible routes for the first transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada.

He built a number of ditches and water pipelines to serve mines and towns there, and became known as the “Father of Ditches.” He was also one of the founders of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.

It seems he spent his early years in Vermont, then moved with his family to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin, where he studied civil engineering.

[19][20] Marsh became chairman of the county board of supervisors in 1855, at the age of 30, and continued building and operating various ditches/canals bringing water to mines and towns.

In early 1861, Marsh, Judah and Strong met with Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins Jr. and Charles Crocker to obtain financial backing.

Papers were filed to incorporate the new company, and on April 30, 1861, the eight of them, along with Lucius Anson Booth, became the first board of directors of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Of the members of the Central Pacific Railroad’s board of directors, only Leland Stanford and Charles Marsh attended the Gold Spike ceremony.

Marsh was active in both the Masons and Odd Fellows, and held the highest offices in the state of those organizations.

Charles Marsh. Photo courtesy of the Nevada County Historical Society, Searls Historical Library, Nevada City, California.
“East meets West” at the completion of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah , on May 10, 1869. The Central Pacific Railroad locomotive “Jupiter” is on the left, and Union Pacific No. 119 on the right. The only two members of the Central Pacific board of directors to attend the ceremony were Leland Stanford and Charles Marsh. [ 16 ]
This replica of the Central Pacific “Jupiter” (built by O’Connor Engineering Company ) is at the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory Summit, Utah, along with a replica of the Union Pacific #119.
Gold Spike at the California State Railroad Museum , Sacramento, California. The museum also has a wall-sized painting of the Gold Spike ceremony which includes images of Charles Marsh and Leland Stanford.
The Bear River Bridge on the Nevada County Narrow-Gauge Railroad, which was the highest railroad bridge in the state. Some of the railroad’s rolling stock is preserved at the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad & Transportation Museum in Nevada City, California. Photo courtesy of the Searls Historical Library collection, Nevada City, California.
Charles Marsh House, 123 Nevada St., Nevada City, California. In November 1853, Marsh was in such demand as a surveyor that when he returned to his office, someone would ring a bell to announce that fact to people anxiously waiting for surveys. [ 44 ]