Colon is located on the eastern edge of St. Joseph County. The town was settled about 1832 and became incorporated as a village in 1904. [MPN]
Colon was located on the MC's Air Line Branch, which ran between Jackson and Niles via Three Rivers.
Photo Info: Top, the MC depot at Colon. A passenger train appears to be approaching, though the locomotive is in the reverse position, pulling the train. [CMUL]. 2nd photo, the MC depot at Colon. [Alan Loftis collection]. 3rd photo, a wider angle photo of the depot. 4th photo, a close up view of the depot showing the message box. 5th image, a current photo of the former Colon depot in 2003. [Alan Loftis]
This depot had a train message display on the front.
1917. The MC had an operator here on two shifts. [TRT]
1920. On the Michigan Central, this is a passenger, freight and express agency joint with the American Railway Express Company. Interline tickets are issued. T. P. Morton is the agent. The telegraph call sign is "CN". [MCOAS]
1930. May 8. On Saturday, at 11:30 am 40 cars of a fast freight, westbound from New York to Chicago over the Air Line, piled up in a tangled mass about a mile east of the village. The exact location was at the old gravel pit owned by the MC just west of DeWitt's crossing. The train, composed of 73 cars and cars 6-5 left the rails. The cause was believed to be from a broken part on one of the cars.
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
