Central Pacific Railroad Company and Huntington & Hopkins Hardware Store, Old Town Sacramento, California

Photo ID# RW3751

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The Big Four Building consists of the Huntington, Hopkins & Co Hardware store, Stanford Brothers Warehouse, and Nathaniel Dingley Steam Coffee & Spice Mill. Aside from the California Missions and the discovery of gold at Sutter Mill, this building is one of the most historically significant locations in the shaping of modern-day California.

In 1855, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins started their hardware store business then after a few years began plotting along with their neighboring business owners to build a transcontinental railroad. In the years prior there was no easy way to travel to California. The tragic story of the Donner Party in 1846 was a testament to that. The Central Pacific Railroad put an end to that however. The founders used their newfound wealth in many ways, with Leland Stanford eventually going on to establish Stanford University for example.