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Railroads of Michigan
(from the Atlas
of the State of Michigan, 1873)
by Ray Haddock,
Esq.
The history of the Railroads of
Michigan is in wrought with the annals of the State, with her early
struggles, her hopes, her progress, her destiny. Immigration hither was at
its height during the period, particularly the latter part of it, extending
from 1830 to 1835. A large proportion was from Western New York, an
element belonging mainly to the New England stock, and quite naturally the
maximums of thrift and enterprise came with them. The practical
application of these maxims began to take shape in stupendous enterprises
even before Michigan emerged from the chrysalis condition of a Territory.
The name of these projects was legion, most of them being of a Utopian
character, whose most important results consisted of fastening upon our then
population an enormous load of indebtedness. This period constitutes
the first of two epochs in our Railroad history. The first belongs to
the era of wild speculation and "internal improvement" so vividly remembered
by old citizens of the West, and, in view of the great results which our
pioneers hoped for, taken in connection with the insignificant means at
command, it may be regarded as eminently typical of that remarkable era.
It is with entirely different emotions that we turn for a moment to the
second epoch, in the midst of which we now are, the most gratifying
reflection connected with which is that, magnificent as are the results,
they are but a true index of the development of the great materials of the
State.
Of the numerous projects
belonging to the earlier epoch, only three Roads of any considerable extent
assumed substantial form and shape, viz. the Detroit and St. Joseph (the old
corporate name of the Michigan Central); the Michigan Southern, and the
Detroit and Pontiac (which alternately became merged in the Detroit and
Milwaukee).
In 1830, the population of Detroit
numbered 2,200 souls. The citizens of that day were proverbially
enterprising, to a degree more than commensurate with their ability.
If the public interest required any work to be done, there were no
capitalists to rely upon, for no fortunes had been made. A few of the
old class of landed proprietors were comparatively well off, but those who
were the most wealthy, as a general rule, had the least money, their
possessions consisting of lands, and the necessity of borrowing money with
which to pay their taxes was more nearly the rule than the exception.
The community could boast of two or three banks, powerful institutions for
those days, having more capital than could be conveniently used at home, and
considerable of their surplus currency was absorbed by Ohio customers.
There was comparatively little difficulty in borrowing money, and very
naturally almost everybody was in debt. Thus situated, with no trade
with the outer world worth speaking of, except in the single item of furs,
when we say that poor as Detroit was, it was rich compared with the
settlements elsewhere in the Territory, something like a true idea may be
formed as to the ability of Michigan to prosecute great works of internal
improvement.
Such
was the condition of affairs when the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad was
incorporated by the "Legislative Council of the Territory of Michigan."
The act was consummated on the 29th June, 1832, and names as Commissioners
the following gentlemen, all of whom, we believe, have passed from the
earthly stage of action, viz. John Biddle, John R. Williams, Charles Larned,
E. P. Hastings, Oliver Newberry, De Garmo Jones, James Abbott, John Gilbert,
Abel Millington, Job Gorton, John Allen, Anson Brown, Samuel W. Dexter, W.
E. Perrine, Wm. A. Thompson, Isaac Crary, O.W. Colden, Caleb Eldred, Cyrus
Lovell, Calvin Brittain, and Talman Wheeler. By the terms of the
charter, the State reserved the right to purchase the Road at a price not
exceeding its original cost and fourteen per cent interest.
This initial step, destined to be
productive of great results in paving the way for an East and West through
line, was due in a certain degree to the necessities of the case, as well as
to enterprise and public spirit. There were at the time four
thoroughfares leading into Detroit, the Chicago [Road], Grand River [later
Grand River Avenue], Fort Gratiot [later Gratiot Avenue], and Saginaw [later
Woodword Avenue] generally known as the Pontiac road, all of which had been
built by government. They were all constructed upon a clay soil, and
were well nigh impassable throughout a considerable portion of the year;
hence the necessity for iron outlets. The Detroit and St. Joseph road
was at the outset a local enterprise, and probably not a dollar of the
original stock was taken at the East. Every one in Detroit who had a
hundred dollars at command, present or prospective, subscribed, and upon
this subscription, with what little could be obtained along the line, the
work was commenced. Within two years from the date of the act of
incorporation, the construction proceeded between Detroit and Ypsilanti,
under the presidency of Major John Biddle. The civil engineer in
charge was Col. John M. Berrien, then Lieut. Berrien, an officer of the
army, detached for civil service - a not uncommon proceeding, the valuable
aid of officers being frequently called into requisition in laying out roads
and furnishing drawings of harbors and "paper cities". Between Detroit
and Ypsilanti, the forest was almost entirely unbroken, and was so dense
that it was with the greatest difficulty the surveyors could run a line.
Not withstanding this and countless other drawbacks, the construction
progressed at a fair rate for that period, when every necessary appliance
was procured with great difficulty. The Albany and Schenectady (then
Mohawk and Hudson) Railroad, the first Road built north of Pennsylvania, had
been running only about a year when the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad
Company was chartered.
The construction of the Road
progressed as rapidly as could be expected until Michigan was formally
admitted as a State, in February, 1837. By this time, the subject of
internal improvements by the State had begun to be agitated to a
considerable extent, and an act was passed and approved March 20, 1837,
entitled "An act to provide for the construction of certain works of public
improvement, and for other purposes." This act provided for the
purchase of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, and under its provisions
the Road passed into the possession of the State. This was after about
$30,000 had been expended toward building the section between Detroit and
Ypsilanti, and in purchasing the right of way beyond the last named point.
Laws were passed by which a loan of $5,000,000 was to be effected for the
purpose of making internal improvements, and thus carrying out the popular
idea. Somewhere between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 was realized from
this loan, but by the crash of 1837 the corporators who had taken the loan
became insolvent, and the State was left financially powerless.
Upon
the purchase of the Road by the State, the name was changed to the Michigan
Central [actually the name "central Michigan" line was used. The name
Michigan Central was later used when the line was privatized], and it became
part and parcel of the famous plan of crossing the State by three parallel
lines, namely, the Northern, having its eastern terminus at Port Huron, the
Central, terminating at Detroit, and the Southern, at Monroe. By way
of relieving the monotony attaching to so many land routes, a canal was
projected from Clinton River to the Kalamazoo, upon which a large sum was
expended before it was abandoned. The Northern road, after being
graded for some distance west from Port Huron, was abandoned after the
expenditure of a large sum for the right of way, grubbing and grading.
The late Hon. James B. Hunt was the Acting Commissioner of the Northern
route, Gen. Levi S. Humphrey, of Monroe, holding the same position in
reference to the Southern, the works being in charge of a general Board of
Internal Improvements. The first Acting Commissioner of Internal
Improvements was Col. David. C. McKinstry, father of Commodore J. P.
McKinstry.
To convey a correct idea of the
character of the railroads of that day, we ought to state that up to this
time, and for several years subsequently, the old-fashioned "strap rail" was
the kind use. The rails, after a little wear, easily became displaced,
the projecting ends being what were too familiarly known as "snake-heads."
The T rail had been introduced upon Eastern roads, but the idea of its
possession did not even enter into the thoughts of our pioneers of internal
improvement. It was, in fact, the very cheapness of railroads that
served as a powerful incentive to men with small means to undertake their
construction. Even the strap rail was at times a luxury, the supply
being ecked out, in case of emergency, by the substitution of wooden
material. The rolling stock was mostly of a character in keeping with
that of the track. The cars were small, divided into three
compartments, but entirely innocent of any of the "modern improvements," and
having doors through the sides. The first cards in use were built in
Troy, but their manufacture was soon commenced here. The first
passenger car of Detroit make was christened the Lady Mason, and was built
under the supervision of George and John Gibson, both now deceased.
The State built the Road as far
west as Kalamazoo, but her reputation for railroad management was constantly
on the descending scale. The Internal Improvement warrants sunk as low
as forty cents to the dollar, there being no funds with which to meet them.
The Roads were rapidly wearing out, and the state was so new and so poor
that it had no credit to purchase iron, or even to buy the spikes required
to fasten down the "snake-heads," to say nothing of a further extension of
the track. The affairs of the Road were in such a strait that it would
have stopped entirely , but for the interposition of Governor Barry, who
advanced $7,000 in money from his individual means, and became personally
responsible for $20,000 more. In this condition of affairs, the
Legislature of 1846 assembled. Amongst the earliest proceedings, Judge
Hand, the sole representative from Detroit in the House, moved a resolution
for the appointment of a committee to consider the expediency of providing
for the sale of the public works. This was carried, and a bill
authorizing the sale was about being reported, when Mr. J. W. Brooks, of
Boston, came forward as the representative of a number of Eastern
capitalists, and made a tender for the purchase of the Road.
Negotiations were at once entered into, the result of which was that the
present charter was drawn up and reported, conditioned for the payment of
$2,000,000 as purchase money, and after a protracted struggle, the required
two thirds of each House was obtained, and the bill became a law.
Previous to this time it is asserted that so large a sum as $100,000 had
never been brought into the Western country from the East for investment in
any one enterprise. Yet this act of incorporation contemplated the
expenditure of from $6,000,000 to $8,000,000, of which half a million had to
be paid before the State would relinquish possession. The Company were
required to complete the Road to Lake Michigan with T rail of not less than
sixty pounds to the yard -a very heavy rail for those days - and it was also
stipulated that all the old Road should be re-laid with similar rail.
The Company were authorized to change the western terminus to any point in
the State on Lake Michigan, and they were subsequently allowed to change it
to Chicago. The carrying out of the provisions of the charter and the
gradual change in equipment and outfit until the Road has become second to
none in the country, if in the world, are matters upon which it is
unnecessary to dwell at length. By an arrangement with the Great
Western of Canada, the two interests have been practically consolidated so
far as concerns their traffic.
The same committee reported a bill
for the sale of the Southern Road. The charter of this Road, as
granted by the State, was from Monroe to Lake Michigan. Subsequently
it became a desideratum with the stockholders to have the terminus at
Toledo, and they adopted measures finally resulting in the perpetual lease
of the Erie and Kalamazoo road, whose indebtedness was assumed by the
Southern to the extent of the amount of aid which had been afforded by the
State. Previous to offering the Southern Road for sale, the state had
completed it to Palmyra, four or five miles east of Adrian, at a cost of
$1,100,000. The President, Mr. Noble, effected its purchase on behalf
of himself and others, the corporators being as follows: James J.
Godfroy, Samuel J. Holley, Harry V. Mann, Charles Noble, George W. Strong,
Austin E. Wing, Henry Waldron, Stillman Blanchard, F. W. Macy, Jonathan
Burch, Dan B. Miller, Benjamin F. Fifield, Wm. C. Sterling, W. Wadsworth,
Edward Bronson, Daniel S. Bacon, and Thomas C. Cole. The Messrs.
Litchfield, who subsequently figured so extensively in the history of the
Road, then owned little or none of the stock. The priced paid to the
State was $500,000 for the whole Road, so far as completed, with the
materials, right of way, etc., including also the Tecumseh branch, from
Adrian to Manchester, which had been already built to Tecumseh, and also the
franchises of the Palmyra and Jacksonburgh road, know known as the Jackson
division of the Southern. The Company commenced operations the same
year looking to the extension of the Road westward. The work
progressed slowly, but public confidence steadily increased. Great
difficulty was encountered for want of means, the corporators being mostly
citizens of Monroe, who were mainly impelled by public spirit. Not
long after the sale by the state, a controlling interest was obtained by the
Messrs. Litchfield, and their coadjutors, who with a little money, a great
deal of boldness, and indomitable perseverance, succeeded in pushing the
Road into Chicago, reaching that city in advance of the Central. There
was no stoppage of the work from the period of the same. while the
construction was in progress, Col. Bliss, of Springfield, Mass., also became
prominently connected with it, and held the Presidency for several years.
In 1855, an act was passed authorizing the consolidation of the Michigan,
Southern and Northern Indiana Roads, and in 1856, the Detroit, Monroe and
Toledo Road was chartered. The latter was promptly completed and the
company controlling the Southern obtained a perpetual lease. A
reference to the other divisions controlled by the same interest, will come
more properly hereafter in the portion of our article allotted to the
enterprises of later date. By consolidation with Roads beyond the
limits of the State, the Southern has become a gigantic corporation, the
total length of the main line and the different divisions being about 1,200
miles. Like that of the Central, the building of the original line was
attended with great difficulties, and the parallel is maintained so far as
concerns equipment and general management, - both lines enjoying enviable
and well-earned reputations.
Probably
the history of no Railroad ever built is replete with so many amusing and
grotesque incidents, or marked by so many financial perturbations, as that
of the old Detroit and Pontiac Road. At an early period is the history
of Detroit, it became a desideratum to establish railroad connection with
the rich agricultural region of Oakland county, whose milling facilities
were already in a fair stage of development. A charter was obtained of
the Territorial Legislature on the 7th March, 1834, and the capital stock
fixed at $100,000. Messrs. Alfred Williams and Sherman Stevens, of
Pontiac, were the principal stockholders and managers, their control
continuing until 1840, during which period their financial operations, if
they could be presented in full, would make a most racy chapter. The
building of the Road in the mean time made slow progress, banking
enterprises engaging the principal attention of its managers. It was
finally completed to Birmingham in 1839, and in September of that year the
late Henry J. Buckley, agent and conductor, put forth his advertisement in
the papers for two trips a day to Birmingham, the cars funning in connection
with "post coaches" to Pontiac and Flint, together with a semi-weekly line
to Grand River. The introduction of steam was regarded as a notable
event, the cars, during the period for which Royal Oak had been the
terminus, having been run by horse power. In 1840, parties in
Syracuse, N.Y. having claims upon the Road, procured its sale under an
execution. It was bid in by Gurdon Williams, of Detroit, and Giles
Williams and Dean Richmond, of Buffalo, but was soon afterward transferred
to other parties in Syracuse. It was finally completed to Pontiac in
1843. The Road was subsequently leased by the Syracuse owners for ten
years to Gordon Williams, who was to pay a graduated amount of rental,
averaging about $10,0000 a year. In 1848, before the expiration
of the lease, steps were taken to rescue the Road from the slough of despond
into which it had been sunk by a heavy load of indebtedness, which finally
resulted in its coming into he possession of a company headed by H. N.
Walker, Esq., and that eminent but ultimately unfortunate financier, N. P.
Stewart. Mr. Walker, who was elected President, negotiated bonds of
the Company for a sufficient amount to relay the track. The accession
of this company was the turning point in the fortunes of the Road. The
laughable anecdotes of its early days, in which "snake-heads" and hair
breadth escapes are among the leading stables, would fill a respectable
sized volume.
On the 3d April, 1848, a charter
was obtained by the "Oakland and Ottawa Railroad Company." The Company
was poor, and its bonds were negotiated with difficulty, and it was only by
the most strenuous exertions that any progress was made. In 1852 work
was commence, and in 1853 Mr. Walker went to Europe in the interest of the
Road, where he purchased 2,600 tons of iron, being sufficient to lay the
track to Fentonville.
The "Detroit and Pontiac" and
"Oakland and Ottawa" Railroads were consolidated on the 13th February, 1855,
under the name of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway. In July of that
year Mr. Walker made a second trip to Europe, where he negotiated the
Company's bonds to the amount of $1,250,000. Subsequently Mr. W.
visited Europe for the third time, during which visit an arrangement was
made with the Great Western Railway Company, which was calculated to put an
end to financial embarrassment. The mortgage was closed in 1860, and
the name changed to the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad. It may be
added, as a curious fact, that, while those who were early engaged in
pushing forward this enterprise made much greater sacrifices to promote the
land grant policy than were made by any other interest in the country, the
Road was ultimately deprived of all aid in the way of a grant. The
Road was completed only by the most herculean efforts, but all these great
sacrifices have been requited in the immense influence it has exerted in
aiding the development of the country.
Our sketch of the Railroad
enterprises belonging to the first epoch, is now brought to a close.
For many years after the completion of our pioneer Roads, railway enterprise
was at a low ebb, for want of the "sinews of war," but with the advent of a
more favorable period in the money market, the attention of Eastern
capitalists was directed to the flattering inducements held out by our State
for investment in projects calculated to aid the development of our vast
material wealth.
It was not until the keels of
countless merchantmen had vexed the waters of the bays and inlets of our
Lower Peninsula, bearing away the rich spoils of our frontier forests, that
our lumbermen began to work their way inward from the shore, a process that
gradually became a matter of necessity as the supply began to show marked
signs of diminution. By slow degrees the plow followed the
paraphernalia of the mill, and in due time the important truth became
revealed that the "pine barrens," which, according to tradition, constituted
a very large share of our Peninsula, were almost entirely mythical so far as
the term referred to the character of the soil. the choicest pine
timber proved to be invariably interspersed with beech, maple, and other
hardwoods, growing mostly on rolling lands, and having an arable and
productive soil. The settlement of the north began in earnest; State
roads were constructed; lands became valuable for farming purposes, and the
country began to feel the effect of the land grants that had been made by
Congress in aid of railroads. these grants proved, indeed, the coup
de grace in raising the value of lands along the line of the proposed
Roads. They were granted in alternate sections, and a demand spring up
at advanced rates for the unappropriated sections, which in turn reacted
upon and enhanced the value of the grants. The first specific grant by
Congress for railroad purposes was made to the Illinois Central in 1850, but
the first grant in aid of Michigan roads was not made until 1856.
These grants were made to the State direct, and the details of the
conditions were imposed by legislative enactment. The progress of the
Roads was slow, and the effect in the enhancement of the value of the lands
was on a corresponding scale. The unexampled progress which has been made
within the past eight years is due to a very great degree in the interest
controlling the Michigan Central, backed by Eastern capitalists.
within the brief period named this interest has either built with its own
means, or materially aided in their construction, the following important
lines, viz. The Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw; the Grand River Valley; the
Jackson and Fort Wayne; the Michigan Air Line; the Detroit, Hillsdale and
Indiana; the Kalamazoo and South Haven; The Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore;
the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan, and the Detroit and Bay City.
The pushing forward of these great enterprises alone could not but exert a
very marked influence upon the development of the State, to say nothing of
the extension of the system by way of branches and the connecting lines that
have been found expedient as that development progressed. In the mean
time other causes have been at work, while local pride and local interests
have been stimulated to the highest pitch, and within the past two or three
years railroad enterprise has been at its height, and still shows no
diminution except so far as that necessarily occasioned by the consummation
of its objects. This rapid progress ought perhaps to excite no
surprise when we duly consider the peculiar advantaged presented by our
State, bearing directly upon the case. While she stands confessedly
within a peer in the extent and multiform character of her resources, her
geographical position is at the same time strikingly favorable, situated as
she is upon the very highway, both by land and water, of the mighty commerce
of the northern part of the continent. Other, though less powerful
causes, some of them subsidiary to the cardinal ones we have named, may be
referred to, such as the comparatively easy gradients, and the incentives
presented for spanning peninsular territory - a bribe held out by nature
herself as it were, to the spirit of progress. To these may be added
the proverbially enterprising character of our people, a point which, so far
from approaching hesitatingly, we desire to emphasize, and with respect to
no class of our population more particularly than to the hardy tillers of
the soil. the indomitable energy and public spirit of this class has,
on numerous occasion, elicited admiring comments from capitalists, and has
been brought most forcibly to the minds of the citizens of the commercial
metropolis in connection with the noble efforts of the people upon all of
the new lines by which it has been sought to reach the city - efforts which
have finally, in almost every instance, been crowned with triumphant
success.
Speculations have to some
extent been indulged in, touching the effect of the final exhaustion of our
pine timber upon the prosperity of the railroads whose interests are
identified with the traffic of Northern Michigan, but no considerations
touching this point have produced any influence - at least any unfavorable
influence - upon the minds of investor. the conclusion is so obvious that he
who runs may read, that the day that witnesses such exhaustion will see our
railroads upon the very top wave of that prosperity that shall never know an
ebb. A traffic quite as lucrative will be opened up in hardwood
timber, the value of which will be greatly enhanced by numerous causes,
among which may be named the very thinning out in question. Its
prospective value and importance in fact baffles all computation. This
commodity, which is produced among us in such profusion that the most
prodigal disposition of it scarcely excites remark, is wanted at high prices
in all the markets of Europe, and will be exported in limitless quantities
as soon as a revolution is brought about in the carrying trade between the
lakes and the ocean, an event which in the very nature of things, cannot be
much longer deferred. In the meantime the agricultural resources of the
country will be developed, of whose effect some idea may be formed from the
significant fact that several of the lines completed within the past two or
three years have in their very infancy, attained to prospects that warrant
them in adopting means to provide for extensive lines of "feeders".
It is within the scope of our
article to enumerate the roads already built, - but with no particular
system as regards date of construction, - together with such projects as are
certain or most likely to be matured, as well as to present a few leading
facts concerning them respectively. The idea of doing full justice to
them, in whole or in part, would involve greater space than we have at our
command.
[Michigan Central Railroad]
The Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw
road was the first ever aided by the Michigan Central, which was about eight
years ago [1865]. When commenced, there was no thought of carrying the
line as far as Saginaw, but upon its completion to Lansing, the idea was
conceived of extending it to the former place. There lay in the way,
between Lansing and Owosso, a segment of the old "Ramshorn Road," a familiar
designation for a project whose corporate name was the Amboy, Lansing and
Traverse Bay Railroad. The Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Company
purchased this segment, with all its franchises, including the land grant,
under the authority of an act of the Legislature, made it part of their
line, and carried it in triumph across the Saginaw Valley toward the Straits
of Mackinac. It is the strength which the above land grant gave them
which now enables them to be building toward the Straits. During the
past season it has been completed to Otsego Lake, in the north part of
Otsego County, within fifty miles of Cheboygan. At the present writing
[1873], it has not been decided whether the line is to be run to the Straits
direct, or to that point via Cheboygan. Whichever may be the
case, it will form a most important link in the chain of the Northern
Pacific, and will afford, after the completion of the Detroit and Bay City
road, virtually an air line from the Straits to Detroit. The Road from
Mackinac to Marquette, it is now rendered certain, will be built at an early
day, and the distance from Marquette to Detroit by rail will then be 340
miles shorter by this line than by any other existing route, which will
enable it to control the entire traffic from Marquette during the protracted
period of the year at which navigation is closed.
The Grand River Valley road was
finished in 1870. It is 94 miles long, running from Jackson to Grand
Rapids, intersecting the Detroit and Milwaukee road [this should read Grand
Rapids & Indiana], and connecting by means of the latter, with the Chicago
and Michigan Lake Shore road, which runs north to Montague, on White Lake.
This Road runs through the county seats of Eaton and Barry counties, through
a fertile and to some extent a heavily timbered country, and has done and is
still doing well, although it had not the benefit of a land grant.
Like the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw road, it was undertaken by the people
of Jackson, but they finally applied to the Central for help, without which
it could not have been finished for many years. the governing
consideration in taking hold of it was to control the traffic of the
important region through which it passes and bring the same to Detroit.
The Jackson and Fort Wayne
road, which was completed about two years since, is 100 miles in length, and
afford direct communication with Indiana, a connection which has been
rendered a very important one by the completion of the Detroit, Eel River
and Illinois road. It also forms, in connection with the Jackson,
Lansing and Saginaw road, a great route for lumber from Northern Michigan to
Cincinnati, Louisville and other cities on the Ohio River.
The "Michigan Air Line" was
projected as a short line from Chicago to Buffalo, and was intended to run
across the State from Chicago, striking the St. Clair river just above the
town of St. Clair, and there connect with what is now known as the Canada
Southern. The Michigan Central, which aided in building so much of
this line as lies between Jackson and Niles, and furnished almost the entire
capital with which it was built, finally made it a feeder for Detroit and
the Central. Cassopolis, Three Rivers, Union City, Centreville, Homer,
and other thriving towns ae located on this line, and it passes through as
fine and productive region as any in Michigan. This Road, which was
completed in 1871, is, in point of construction, equal to any in the West,
and shortens the distance between Detroit and Chicago about 15 miles.
Distance from Jackson to South Bend, 111 miles.
The Detroit, Hillsdale and
Indiana Road was built by an arrangement with the managers of the Michigan
Central, whereby it was enabled to sell its bonds, and raise money with
which to go forward and build; but it may be proper to add that the Great
Western was also a party to the arrangement. The new Road runs on the
track of the Central from Ypsilanti to Detroit. Distance from
Ypsilanti to Hillsdale, about 65 miles. Nearly all the business of the
region traversed by this Road has hitherto gone to Toledo. The
Hillsdale Company took the franchise of the Eel River road, extending from
Butler, Indiana, to Logansport, and the Road has recently been finished to
the last named point. The fact that it affords the shortest route to
St. Louis from New England and the region having its outlet at Buffalo,
coupled with the almost unrivaled fertility of the region which it
penetrates, renders this Road of vast importance. It also affords a
direct route between Detroit and Indianapolis via the Indianapolis,
Peru and Chicago road.
The Kalamazoo and South
Haven is another Road whose capital stock is owned chiefly by the Michigan
Central, and the latter company has also guaranteed its bonds and obtained a
lease of the Road, which is an important feeder of itself - 40 miles in
length - and important also as affording an eligible connection with another
Road in the same interest - the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore - the
traffic of which it brings to Kalamazoo. It runs through a country
partly timbered and partly farming.
The line of the Chicago and
Michigan Lake Shore road extends from New Buffalo, 66 miles east of Chicago,
to Pentwater, but it will ultimately be extended to Manistee, a distance of
200 miles in all, and a branch has been built from Holland to Grand Rapids,
24 miles. These lines have both been finished within 18 months.
The main line north of Grand Haven is operated in the interest of the
Michigan Central, and constitutes, with the Grand River Valley road, a
direct line from Detroit to the western coast of the State, trains leaving
daily from the Michigan Central depot. The Chicago and Michigan Lake
Sore road was consolidated October 23, 1872, with the Muskegon and Big
Rapids road, which has recently been completed. The pine lumber trade
of these roads is assuming immense proportions.
The Detroit, Lansing and
Lake Michigan road, an important artery of the commerce of Detroit and of
the State, was completed in the Fall of 1871 to Howard City, at the junction
with the Grand Rapids and Indiana road. From thence it has been
surveyed and will be built during the Spring of 1873 to Fremont, a point
near the centre of Newaygo County, where it will connect with the newly
constructed Muskegon and Big Rapids road. A branch of this Road
extending from Ionia to Stanton has already been built, and will be extended
beyond Stanton at an early day. The Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan
road was formed by the consolidation of three companies. The first
consolidation was that of the Detroit and Howell, with the Howell and
Lansing, the latter, however, being organized in the interest of the Detroit
and Howell. The next was that of the Detroit, Howell and Lansing with
the Ionia and Lansing, which took place in March last. The Hon. James
F. Joy, President of the Michigan Central, first aided in raising the money
to build the section from Lansing through Ionia to Greenville, some 56 miles
in length about four years ago. The parties who had it in charge
became embarrassed, and Mr. Joy was obliged to take charge of it in order to
save those who had invested in it from loss, and, in order to make it
valuable, took u the Detroit and Howell project - as enterprise which had
failed - with the view of extending the Road to Detroit, and from Greenville
northwest to Lake Michigan. - The parties above referred to had put in a
large amount of capital, which would have been helplessly sunk but for this
last consolidation.
The Detroit and Bay City road,
which has already been incidentally referred to as part of a direct line to
Mackinac and thence to a connection with the Northern Pacific, completes the
present category of the Roads which have been built or aided by the Michigan
Central. It is but a short time since its commencement, yet, before
our work reaches its readers, it will have been completed. Its length
is something over 100 miles passing through a rish agricultural region,
while lumber and salt trade will contribute very materially to swell its
traffic.
To appreciate the full
significance of the great enterprises to which we have so far referred, as
belonging to our modern railway epoch, with a solitary exception these
projects have all been matured within a period of a little more than
two years! While the expenditure of capital in building branches
and feeders is of common occurrence with railroad corporations, the large
scale upon which the managers of the Michigan Central have aided kindred
enterprises that are neither branches nor "feeders," is unparalleled in
railway annals. Without dwelling upon the incalculable benefits of
this liberal policy to local interests or to that the State at large, it is
a fair inference that that policy has been inaugurated and pursued mainly as
the means of judicious investment of capital- a theory that suggests a most
flattering commentary on the estimate placed upon the vast latent wealth of
our State by those most competent to form a just idea on the subject.
[Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
Railway]
As next in order, we may properly
refer to the branches or divisions of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern
Railway, of which quite an important one was completed last year, namely,
the "Northern Central Michigan," now known as the Lansing Division,
extending from Jonesville, on the main line, to Lansing, a distance of 59
miles. This division, which traverses a wealthy region, succeeded to
the franchises of the southern section of the old Amboy, Lansing and
Traverse Bay, or "Ramshorn" Road. The old company built a road from
Lansing to Owosso, but it was constructed in primitive style.
Financial difficulties arose, and, in September, 1864, the Hon. C. C.
Trowbridge, was appointed Receiver, who remained in possession about two
years. The Road was managed under the direction of Mr. Trowbridge, by
the Superintendent of the D. & M. [Detroit & Milwaukee] Road, and the
rolling stock necessary to its proper working was supplied by that Road.
The Receivership was, of course, only temporary, and near the close of the
1866 the road was sold to the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw Company. It
is the southern division of this once famous corporation, as already
intimated, that is now practically represent3ed in the Lansing division of
the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. An extension has been
projected from Lansing to St. Johns, and thence northward, which has already
been mostly graded to St. Johns. This improvement will ensure
connection with quite a number of enterprising and thriving towns.
The Kalamazoo Division, familiarly
known as "Gardner's Road," was built by piecemeal, having been commenced
(about seven years ago) without any clearly defined reference to the points
now constituting its termini. The Southern Road had had for several
years a "strap" road from White Pigeon to Three Rivers, and the company
agreed that if Mr. Gardner would relay it, they would give him a lease of
it, as a link in a project of his own, namely, the construction of a road
from Three Rivers north to Schoolcraft, the later point being the outlet of
a rich prairie region. This arrangement was concluded, and the Road
was extended to Schoolcraft, after which another corporation was formed by
Mr. Gardner and his friends to build from that point to Kalamazoo, which
project was finally carried forward to completion, and at the last names
point Mr. Gardner rested. He ultimately succeeded in carrying the Road
to Grand Rapids, having been enabled to dispose of the bonds by means of a
stipulated traffic arrangement with the Michigan Central, which corporation
was desirous of obtaining an outlet to Grand Rapids. The Road,
however, finally passed into the hands of the Michigan Southern, and the
Central built the Grand River Valley road, as already stated. Mr.
Gardner also built a branch of his Road from Allegan to Holland which was
ultimately extended to Muskegon (known as the Michigan Lake Shore road.)
The "Continental Improvement Company" (an association nearly identical in
interest with the Pennsylvania Central) have obtained control of all this
line beyond Allegan, and have completed a Road from that place to Martin's
Corners, on the Grand Rapids and Indiana road.
The Detroit, Monroe and Toledo
Division was built in part by subscriptions at Detroit and at other points
on the line. It has proved of great value to Detroit merchants in
affording communication with the South, and has grown into importance as a
channel for shipment to various points in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
The company that constructed the
Jackson Division was organized under special charter, and the Road was built
about thirteen years ago [1859]. The effect of this Division is to
draw off a certain portion of the traffic of the Central for the benefit of
Toledo.
The Adrian and Monroe Division is
practically part of the main line, Adrian being the point of divergence for
the lines respectively to Toledo and Detroit, the later via Monroe.
That portion of the main line from
Toledo to Adrian, 33 miles, was acquired by a perpetual lease from the old
"Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Company."
The Roads hereafter names,
including a number of highly important lines, have, it is hardly necessary
to say, no connection with either of the great interests upon which we have
heretofore dwelt. Like the lines already described, however, they are
almost invariably first class in their construction and general equipment.
[Grand Rapids and Indiana
Railroad Company]
The Grand Rapids and Indiana
road is a most important channel from a number of considerations, especially
in view of its great length, the immense natural wealth of the vast region
tributary to it, and from its connections, having the Straits of Mackinac as
its northern terminus, and tapping the Grand River Valley with its network
of railways and its rich stores of lumber, plaster, and other leading
commodities, for which it has opened a market in the rich State of Indiana.
Its financial history has been a checkered one. There were heavy
losses from various causes, including inefficient management at the onset,
quarrels with contractors, the failure of financial agents, etc.
In 1852 and 1853, the "Fort Wayne
and Southern Railroad Company" made such advances toward the construction of
a railroad from Louisville to Fort Wayne as seemed to insure its completion.
The President of that company made propositions that led to the organization
of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company in 1854. The proposed
southern terminus was Hartford City, running north to the Michigan State
line in the direction of Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids and Southern
Railroad Company was organized in 1854, and the two were consolidated under
the present name. In 1855 the southern terminus was changed to Fort
Wayne, and, the same year, application was made for a land grant, which was
obtained in 1856, followed by another in 1864, the whole amount granted
aggregating 1,160,382 acres. In June, 1857, the Company was
consolidated with two other organizations, the "Grand Rapids and Mackinaw"
and the "Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne" Companies, the name of Grand Rapids
and Indiana Railroad company being retained by the new organization.
Early in 1857, the Company organized three full corps of engineers o, one to
operate direct from Grand Rapids to Grand Traverse Bay, the second west of
that nearer the Lake, and the other as a direct Grand Rapids to Little
Traverse Bay, and thence to the Straits, as was practicable. On the
data thus acquired, the present line was located. Owing to the
embarrassments to which we have referred, the Company asked for and obtained
numerous extensions in order to enable it to take advantage of the terms of
the land grants, the time being finally extended to June 3, 1874. In
1869, the continental Improvement Company (organized for this specific
purpose) took the contract to build the Road for the full length, from Fort
Wayne to Little Traverse, 50miles beyond Traverse City, in all 330 miles.
This contract, owing to the greatly enhanced value of the bonds turned over
to the Improvement Company (the Pennsylvania Central guaranteeing them, thus
making them par), has given that company the lion's share of the avails of
the enterprise, and thrown the original corporation completely into the
shade.
The Road has been built as far
north as Rapid River, in Antrim County, and will be completed during the
present year to Mackinac. A branch has been completed and is in
operation to Traverse City, diverging from the main line at Walton, in the
northeast part of Wexford County. Distance form Fort Wayne to the
Straits, 352 miles.
[Flint and Pere Marquette
Railroad]
The Flint and Pere Marquette road,
another of the great arteries that are diffusing life and material health
throughout our State, owes its inception and existence to the combined
influence of a land grant and the enormous lumber trade of the region
tributary to it. It has already been of inestimable value in
stimulating the settlement and drawing out the resources of Northern
Michigan. The Road was commenced at Flint and built to East Saginaw
about seven years ago, and in the Fall of 1866 the construction of the
second division was commenced, running from the east bank of the Saginaw
River, at East Saginaw, 26 1/2 miles, to Averill's, on the Tittibawassee
River, six and one half miles west of Midland. Twenty miles were laid,
ballasted and opened for traffic on the 1st of December, 1867. On the
24th of April, 1868, a lease was effected of the Flint and Holly Railroad, 1
miles in length - for the term of100 years. The latter Road had been
opened for traffic in November, 1864. In December, 1868, a lease of
the Bay City and East Saginaw Railroad was executed. The work on the
main line has been steadily pushed forward. At the close of 1869, 77
miles were opened; in January, 1870, 20 additional miles were brought
into use. During the ensuing Summer the Road will be finished to
Ludington, on Lake Michigan, its western terminus, the contract having been
concluded for the unfinished portion. A branch has recently been built
from Flint to Otter Lake fifteen miles in length, and another has been
surveyed and will probably be completed the present year, extending from
East Saginaw by a very direct line through Vassar and Capac to St. Clair or
Port Huron. A branch will also be built from East Saginaw to Caro, in
Tuscola County, and at several distant points short branches will be
constructed for the special accommodation of the lumber trade.
The Holly, Wayne and Monroe road,
which has been built within the past two years, has been consolidated with
the Flint and Pere Marquette, giving the latter a Toledo connection. It also
brings to Detroit the business of a circumscribed but wealthy region before
inaccessible, via Plymouth, on the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan road,
and Wayne, on the Michigan Central. Distance from Holly to Monroe, 63
1/2 miles.
[Detroit and
Milwaukee Railroad]
The line of the Port Huron
and Lake Michigan road is from Port Huron to Flint, where it connects with
the Detroit and Milwaukee Road, affording direct communication between Port
Huron and Grand Haven, and giving Port Huron the benefit of the connections
of the D. and M. Road. It was projected as long ago as 1836, constituting
one of the three pet schemes of crossing the State heretofore referred to.
At that time a line was marked out all the way to Grand Rapids, and a few
miles were graded, but owing to the great financial embarrassments of 1837,
the scheme fell through. In 1841 the Port Huron and Lake Michigan
Railroad Company was formed, but its progress was confined to locating the
lie and obtaining the right of way. In 1856 the Port Huron and
Milwaukee Railroad Company was organized, the line located, and a
considerable sum expended, but the property was sold under its mortgage in
1864, and the company dissolved. In 1865,the property and franchises
came into the possession of the present Company. It is the present
intention of the management to extend the line to Lansing, although Owosso
has also been named as a possible objective point.
The route of the Peninsular Road
extends southwest from Lansing and has been carried into Indiana, securing a
Chicago connection. At Charlotte it crosses the Grand River Valley
road: at Brady, the Grand Rapids and Indiana; at Schoolcraft, the Kalamazoo
division of the L.S. and M.S.R.S.; at Battle Creek, the main track of the
Michigan Central; at Cassopolis the Michigan Air Line; at South Bend, the
Lake Shore and Michigan; at Stillwell, the Peru and Indianapolis; at
Haskell, the Louisville, New Albany and Chicago; and at Valparaiso, the
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago. The Road was undertaken by Mr.
Dibble, of Battle Creek, some four or five years ago. He has built
thus far on municipal aid, and the proceeds of bonds sold in Europe.
Distance from Lansing to South Bend, 118 miles; Lansing to Chicago, 205.
The project known as the Michigan Midland, from Lansing to Flint, is
encouraged by the Peninsular, as a means of securing an eastern connection.
[Other Roads]
The Ohio and Michigan is the
corporate name of a Road generally denominated the Mansfield, Coldwater and
Lake Michigan Road, which is being constructed under the auspices of the
"Continental Improvement Company." The line extends from Mansfield,
Ohio, through Coldwater, Burlington, Battle Creek and Augusta to Allegan,
from which point the route to Grand Haven and Muskegon, 56 miles in length,
is controlled by the same interest. [This line later became the
Detroit, Toledo & Milwaukee].
The Michigan division of the
Grand Trunk Railway, extending from Port Huron to Detroit, 59 miles, was
completed in the autumn of 1859, the whole expense having been borne by the
gigantic corporation by which it is owned and controlled. The Road has
proved of substantial advantage to a part of the State not otherwise
accommodated with a railway outlet, while the connection has proved
invaluable to our merchants and shippers - and thereby to our producers - in
affording a competing route to the East as well as connection with points
not reached by any other line. Distance from Detroit to Portland,
Maine, 861 miles.
The Saginaw Valley and St.
Louis road, extending from East Saginaw to St. Louis, 34 miles, has been
built during the past year and the cars are running. The extension of
this line to Grand Rapids was in contemplation at the period of the
inception of the enterprise, and it may yet be built.
The Grand Rapids and Newaygo
Railroad, 36 miles in length, also belongs to the list of railroads
completed last year. An extension has been projected northward to Fremont,
the junction of the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan with the Muskegon and
Big Rapids Railroad.
Considerable earth-work has been
done at intervening points on the line of the proposed Marshall and
Coldwater road, and an extension has been projected from Marshall to Elm
Hall, in the northwest part of Gratiot County. [Editor: Neither
were ever built].
A Road has been projected from
Wenona opposite Bay City via Midland, to Big Rapids, where it is proposed to
form a junction with the Muskegon and Big Rapids road. The road-bed
has been finished from Wenona to Midland, and that section will be ironed,
it is expected, early the present season. [This line became the MCRR's
Midland Branch. It was not extended west of Midland]
The new Canada Southern, which for
a considerable period has occupied a prominent place in the public mind, now
approaches completion. The last rail on the portion between St. Thomas
and Amherstburg, Ontario, was laid some time since. From Trenton on
the Detroit River, the Road will have three branches, viz., one direct
through to Chicago passing through Flat Rock, Blissfield and Morenci; one to
Toledo, where it will connect with the Toledo, Wabash and Western, with
which it has been consolidated; and another to Detroit. [Part of this
line west of Trenton was sold to the DT&I (to Dundee). The line from
Grovsnor to Fayette became the NYC's Fayette Branch through Morenci].
The Owosso and Northern road is a
new project, with Frankfort, on Lake Michigan as its ultimate objective
point. It has been graded for the distance of forty miles northward from
Owosso. The proposed road crosses the Flint and Pere Marquette road at
Evart, and the Grand Rapids and Indiana at Clam Lake [Cadillac]. [This
line became part of the Ann Arbor Railroad].
The Toledo, Ann Arbor and Northern
road is another comparatively new project, but the line between Toledo and
Ann Arbor will soon be ironed. The bridges are already built, and the
road-bed completed.
The capital stock has all been
subscribed for a railroad from Elkhart, Indiana, to Benton Harbor, opposite
St. Joseph.
A railway will be eventually built
in all probability, from the main line of the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw
road to Alpena. As yet, very little has been done.
The Michigan Air Line, projected
from St. Clair to Jackson - of which the Road is in operation between
Ridgeway and Romeo is a segment - has disposed of its franchise to
Pontiac parties who have been endeavoring this past summer to raise funds to
complete the Road. They have induced some English capitalists to look
over the ground with the view of investing, but the result is somewhat
uncertain. [The portion of this line between Jackson and Richmond
became part of the Grand Trunk Western.]
An Air line from Detroit to the
southwest through Adrian has been a favorite project with the citizens of
the rich region directly interested, but its culmination has been postponed
through various causes, and is as present retarded by a conflict of
interests. The line has already been graded from Tecumseh to Adrian,
and a contract was let some time since from Adrian to Morenci. [This
line became the Wabash, later the Norfolk Southern].
A Road has been projected from
Lapeer to Port Austin, which, if built, will run for the distance of six
miles over a branch of the Detroit and Bay City road, which has already been
completed northeasterly from Lapeer.
A Company has been organized for
the construction of a Road from Utica to Almont with some prospect for
success.
We have now enumerated, in
addition to the Roads actually built, the more meritorious of the new
projects which are agitating the Lower Peninsula. New ones are
being constantly urged upon the public attention, many of which have nothing
very substantial to rest upon, but are projected as a means of furthering
purely local interests, without due deference to the question whether they
can command the volume of business necessary to sustain them.
We will now invite the attention
of the reader to the Upper Peninsula, where the stupendous interests at
stake are beginning to enlist the serious attention of capitalists, and the
development of a railway system on a scale corresponding with the magnitude
of those interests has commenced in earnest within a recent period. We
have already referred, incidentally, to the probably early completion of the
link in the chain of the Northern Pacific, extending from the Straits of
Mackinac to Marquette.
The
formation of the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon Railroad Company is the
result of the consolidation of the "Marquete and Ontonagon" and the
"Houghton and Ontonagon" roads. The former road, extending from
Marquette to Champion, opened to a market the iron district, embracing
twenty of the largest mines, as well as a large timber, mineral and
agricultural country. The latter road, from L'Anse, at the head of
Keweenaw Bay, to a junction with the Marquette road, opened an immense
additional mineral district, with an outlet at L'Anse, and the consolidated
roads and branches, extending nearly a hundred miles, are rapidly
accomplishing the development of the largest and richest mineral district in
the world. The line is now completed in full operation from Marquette
to L'Anse, with a magnificent harbor and freight facilities at each
terminus, and is doing a business, proportioned to the investment, greater
than any other railroad in the United States. The iron traffic alone
will amount in 1873 to at least 1,500,000tons. The chief towns and
cities located upon this important line are Negaunee; Ishpeming, Clarksburg,
Champion, Michigammi [sic], and L'Anse. The Road will be extended to
Ontonagon within the next four years, and will eventually connect at
Montreal River with the Northern Pacific. It will thus form a most
important connecting link between Duluth and the Lower Peninsula of
Michigan, and through the State to all points throughout the country.
The gap of 65 miles in the Chicago
and Northwestern Railroad from Escanaba to the Wisconsin line has recently
been built, forming a continuous route by rail from Marquette to Chicago.
This road was built by W. B> Ogden and his friends, and finally consolidated
with the Northwestern.
The aggregate length of the
Railroads of Michigan isstated by Governor Bagley, in his message, at about
3,200 miles. The following is believed to be a correct statement of
thenumber of miles actually ironed in 1872:
-
Michigan Central (double
track) - 50
-
Jackson Lansing and Saginaw -
84
-
Detroit Bay City, and branch
- 116
-
Grand Rapids and Indiana main
line - 80
-
Grand Rapids and Indiana,
Traverse City Branch - 17
-
Ionia and Stanton - 20
-
Muskegon and Big Rapids - 50
-
Flint and Pere Marquette - 15
-
Northern Central Michigan
(whole length) - 59
-
Saginaw Valley and St. Louis
- 34
-
Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake
Michigan - 21
-
Grand Raids and Newaygo
(whole length) - 36
-
Cicago and Northwestern - 65
-
Marquette, Houghton and
Ontogagon- 50
Total No. of miles - 697
The theodolite of the railroad
surveyor has been to our beautiful Peninsula, even as the wand of Prospero.
It has caused the wilderness to blossom as the rose, and throughout the
length and breadth of the land have risen schools, and colleges, and temples
to our Most High. The rapid development of our resources has reacted
upon the means by which it was wrought. Insignificant railroad
machinery has given place to engines which are seemingly the perfection of
human invention; the old-fashioned, ill-contrived cars have been succeeded
by palatial coaches; and "strap rails" have been displaced by a kind more
worthy to bear the teeming commerce of the mighty West. The history of our
early enterprises has not been without its moral. We are commanded not
to despise the day of small beginnings, and the lesson in this case is
emphasized by the striking fact that the mightiest channels of the State and
of the West are the legacy of a period chiefly remembered as the era of wild
speculation. Thus did the strong man of old gather sweets from the
carcass of the dead lion.
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