Station: Otter Lake, MI

A very old photograph of the interlocking tower at Otter Lake. Charlie Whipp collection.

Above, a drawing of the interlocker from 1902, based on blueprints in the State of Michigan Archieves. [Drawing by Dale Berry] Below, two photos of the depots at Otter Lake. The top photo is the spartan Michigan Central Depot. The depot below is the Pere Marquette depot. Though the MCRR had the busier line through town, the PM depot appears to be much larger. [Both photos- Charlie Whipp collection].

Below, another photo of the depot at Otter Lake. [Alan Loftis Collection]

Charlie Whipp mentions that Otter Lake was used for ice production and the ice was shipped to other parts of Michigan for home refridgeration. The largest ice houses in Otter Lake were located on the Pere Marquette and it was big business for them at that location. Over the years, thousands of tones of ice were shipped out of Otter Lake, as well as there being a large sawmill complex in town.

"From the photo, it appears that the PM station was a 'housing & lights' agency, where the agent lived on the second floor of the building and took a slightly smaller salary because he had rent and heat figured into his salary", Whipp says.