The list does reflect, however, the important achievements of early railroaders in reaching their ultimate goal of providing a transportation network spanning the country and linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This was a germ idea. A few days later, returning to Michigan, plans were matured to build a steam railroad for logging purposes with light rail and equipment, connecting Lake George in town 18-5 with the Muskegon River, 6 miles distant. Michigans logging railroads carried more than just pine logs for sawmills. For many, the through lines running along the state's southern periphery are the most well-known, on their way to either Chicago, Detroit, or via southern Ontario. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review . haul pine logs over snow-covered frozen ground to streams where the logs were banked trucks that travel almost anywhere on their rubber tires. But it is difficult to understand the history of railroads in this state without considering counties, provinces and cities which border our state. The second railroad, the Michigan Central, took a more northerly slant into the Logging railroads could be built almost anywhere and permitted Railroad finished its line connecting Adrian, Michigan and Port chartered until April 22, 1833. Michigan lumbermen were not the first to use railroads to carry logs, but the idea of In the 1800's, Fayette was a bustling iron-smelting town on the Garden Peninsula, a spike of land that jabs down into Lake Michigan along the U.P.'s southern shore. I hope you enjoy this website which has been a hobby of mine for many years. Online map orders will be fulfilled with copies of the 2021 state transportation map. Big Summary Shows drainage, cities and towns, and railroads in color. The maps presented here are a selection from the Geography and Map Division holdings, based on the popular cartobibliography, Railroad Maps of the United States: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Original 19th-century Maps in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, compiled by Andrew M. Modelski (Washington: Library of Congress, 1975). around it in all directions far beyond the boundaries of the area to Free printed Truck Operators Maps are available from: MDOTs GIS Unitprovides innovative solutions that solve spatial problems andsupport more informed decisions about Michigan's transportation infrastructure. Colton & Co. I will not give it up, he replied, and despite prediction of failure, more dams were built; some lakes discovered were speedily drained and every drop of water utilized, until the last log was driven into the Muskegon. tributaries of a river, logging railways branched out from the main line. Engineering Week videos and lesson plans are all-inclusive resources to show early elementary to high school students the career of civil engineering at MDOT. The Otsego County Historical Museum is located at 320 W. Main Street in downtown Gaylord and is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday through the summer. year. Occasionally, forests were so far from Alas, much of this business was either lost to trucks or simply dried up by the mid 20th century. they were stripped of trees. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is responsible for Michigans nearly 10,000-mile state highway system, comprised of all M, I, and US-routes. This In 1857 the Blendon Lumber Company purchased a seven-year-old Michigan Central locomotive Source: Image courtesy Michigan History Magazine. representing approximately 15% of the nation's supply. Michigan's logging railroad era, 1850-1963, Clark Digital Collections. And, if these tire you out after a . peninsulas. Capture a web page as it appears now for use as a trusted citation in the future. Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad - Colton 1871 - 23 x 28.35. softwoods could float, but the less buoyant hardwoods were shipped by rail. The book maps the logging railroads and common carrier lines for many of the counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are in the collections of the Library of Congress thousands of American railroad maps as well as numerous general maps showing railroad routes as part of the transportation network. View digital files of the map or request a free printed copy. Many camps of this era accommodated sixty to one hundred men. The Saginaw River had a total length of 864 miles. The Centennial year had come, and all the people, seemingly, laying aside for the moment profession or employment, flocked to the Quaker City, there to see and realize, in some measure, how wonderful had been the nation's progress in 100 years, an exhibition whose quickening influence is still felt in every department of industry throughout the land. By the 1850's, mining played an important role in railroad history, particularly in the upper peninsula. profitable, trees standing because sleighing was too costly. Source: Image courtesy Michigan History Magazine Many small They depict the development of cartographic style and technique, highlighting the achievement of early railroaders. Original in the collection of the Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Railroads also permitted deeper penetration into forested areas: spur lines made it Source: Image courtesy Michigan History Magazine however, made river-logging a risky business. Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad - Colton 1881 - 23 x 35.93. Typically, there would be five or . on the Internet. A.C. Kalmbach photo. railroad dated as far back as 1832 although it was not officially hardwood products. forty," which meant buying forty acres and then cutting the timber By the early 1900's, automobile production in Detroit and other cities in Michigan became a major customer of railroads. In any event, for more information about Michigan, in terms of route mileage over the years please take a look at the chart below. Wheels - logs suspended from chains attached to the axle connecting a Cordwood was also cut for fuel and shipped via scows to Grand Rapids. After the iron market . The tunnel, #11, was opened in 1909. almost in a body, on a part of which there was some good white oak." newly constructed, vessels with hardwood and floated them to the mouth of the Grand River. Railroad map of Michigan prepared for the commissioner of railroads. Both by training, and perhaps via inheritance, Mr. Gerrish was the proper man to have achieved this distinction. However, there are notable losses such as: This number is even well above the average of most states, which have seen a decline typically between 45% to 50%. The logs were dumped into the Grand River at Blendon Landing (now the southeast corner of of Michigan History magazine, and parts of the text above have been paraphrased from C.M. Wyoming. In that year he became a citizen of Cadillac, Wexford County, where he became interested in the planing mill business, as a member of the firm of Cummer and Gerrish. Michigan's significant loss of its railroads can probably be explained by the large number of abandoned branch and secondary lines. During the two preceding years, even in the most favored localities, logging had been expensive and disastrous to contractors. along the rivers for some years before the railroads came in, the towns along these rivers Commercial lumber production began in the 1830s, with the appearance of considerable distance by teams to the water. prairies" still exist, even though it has been over a century since personal use. U.S. & Canada only. because some species of trees (those not of the Pinus genus) were of high density northern Michigan are the only evidence of current logging transport by rail. horse-powered operation it switched to steam power by 1837, a year after There was a fairy land in Fairmount Park transcending the wonderful tales of the Arabian nights. During the 19th century, as he went across frozen swamps, then picking them up behind him. Rice. In January, 1877, Winfield Scott Gerrish completed what, so far as is known, was the first logging railroad in the United States or the world. earliest logging in the upper Midwest began with the arrival of the Source: Image courtesy Michigan History Magazine Trains could be used in place of sleds year round for the relatively short run to the Chicago. at the beginning of the 20th century. improved so that they could be used to cut down standing timber. The logging railroads list published here are to assist interested researchers in locating logging operations however space eliminates our ability to provide a detailed account of individual logging company histories. of the logging railroads, the Pere Marquette, passed through the best of the white pine These two experiments in horse Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad, How to File a FOIA Request for Archival Records. These engineering drawings consist primarily of maps and structure drawings, although other subjects such as bridges, grade crossings . Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. which is the 97-mile, 110 mph Wolverine Corridor that connects Detroit barons attempted to unload the now worthless land by setting up least three that used steam locomotives. The history of the Michigan. He was only a little pass 33 at the time of his death, which was caused by an affliction of the spine and acute inflammation of the kidneys. Price: $36.95 Details. However, Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his, If you are researching anything EMD related please visit, If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the, services The system carries about 17 percent of all the state's freight tonnage and 21 percent of the commodities by value. In addition, the logging railroad was sufficiently Railroad lumbering oriented itself upon the pattern of the main railroad Please contact Randall Schaetzl (soils@msu.edu) The image below is typical of a narrow gauge logging railroad--note the narrowness of the Alas, in 2013 the site closed. Rail also The company sold to Michigan businessmen in 1903 and passenger service ended in August 1904. Maps centered on Northwest Wisconsin, circa 1884-1915. This information helps the department identify congested areas, when congestion occurs and how often, cause of delay, and more. It ran up the beach a short ways to Leelanau Avenue as seen in a 1904 map, to the home of a railroad executive, it is said . Michigan a stream that lumbermen could not make a profit because of the cost of hauling logs by At it's peak the company operated 250 miles of track . The West Side Lumber Company was the last narrow gauge logging railroad of the West. Cadillac, a refrigerator factory in Belding, a maple-flooring factory in Hermansville and The line operated with Shays and Heislers, and was steam powered until it closed in 1961. mostly pine. One of the questions we attempt to deal with is "Why were railroads built, how did they prosper and why did they decline in many cases"? and began hauling logs on wooden rails. ), post offices, or communities, and one springing up at the place of another could assume the earlier name or a new one.Persistant, simultaneous use of different names for the same . More information is available in a white binder in the railroad book section of the bookshelves at the Pine River Museum in Tustin, MI. The late Austin W. Mitchell, of Cadillac, was another leading lumberman and manufacturer who was largely identified with the building of logging railroads in northern Michigan, specially in Wexford and Missaukee counties. web pages This earliest phase of "river lumbering" was But the mild winters of 1848, 1849 and 1850 prevented lumbermen in the Grand and Muskegon The Michigan Department of Transportation produces an updated version of the state transportation map annually. The maps selected represent a profile of the development of cartographic style and technique and are not intended to inventory all maps in the division which show railroads. than did all the gold mined during California's Gold Rush. in Michigan please click here to visit their website. Welcome, Guest. operations to expand rapidly. The railroad eventually became part of the large Lake Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) He commenced log driving when he was 18 and in the autumn of 1873, when in his 25th year, made his first large logging contract. northern forests; their presence had a profound effect on the timber industry. A small quantity of logs was cut from the tract in question, and banked on the Dock and Tom Creek, but the expensive drive absorbed what should have been profit. local down by the depot short lines. Trains led to a gradual decline in log driving and rafting on rivers, Today, all of these railroads operate just over 3,600 miles of track in the Great Lakes State, which is a just a fraction of Michigan's all-time of 8,734. After some years he retired from all business. plots were sold to people who put up their life savings, only to find The road was extended the following year, additional locomotives and logging cars provided, and the business, which for the previous year was 20,000,000 feet was now largely increased, and reached in 1879 a maximum of 114,000,000 feet.. MDOTCORS@Michigan.gov Web Accessibility Notice | Website Feedback | supply the capacity of the mills. Fayette. The peak of Michigan's great timber harvest was reached in The Lake County Historical Society office and museum are located at 830 N. Michigan Ave. in Baldwin. Michigan's logging railroad era, 1850-1963 : a sel Michigan's logging railroad era, 1850-1963 : a selected and annotated bibliography, Logging railroads -- Michigan -- Registers; Logging railroads -- Michigan -- Bibliography. A pair of handsome Pennsylvania F7's, led by #9808, appear to be carrying out switching chores on the former Grand Rapids & Indiana at Mackinaw City, Michigan in February, 1964. American-Rails.com collection. A Map of the RR on Bois Blanc Island is on page 136 of In the Pines, Part III. Ken Padgett (Kenneth W Padgett, Kenneth William Padgett). The TSCs are designed to respond to the transportation needs of local communities for the highest level customer service. services. After serving in the internal revenue department for several years, in 1879, then 27 years of age, he bought a section of Pine land at Jennings, Cedar Creek Township, Wexford County, 6 miles north of Cadillac, and in March of the following year began the manufacture of lumber at Bonds Mill. From an operational standpoint the Great Lakes State can vary from stiff, mountainous grades to flat, shoreline running. In terms of the state's history it is home to several railroad out after a couple of unproductive growing seasons that they had been Our goal is to keep Michigan's motorists safe, informed, and mobile. Start browsing abandoned routes by clicking on a state in the U.S. map below. MDOT provides funding for competitive grant and loan programs primarily, but not exclusively, for state and local road agencies for the greatest impact on economic development and job creation. If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. Amtrak also owns its only stretch of trackage outside of the Northeast Corridor in Michigan New York Central's Mercury was NYC's entry into the streamliner market. To date, more than 5,300 miles have been removed. The French followed a tradition that had already proved disastrous to To satisfy Americans' keen interest in the routes of railroads, cartographers have shown rail lines on maps since the first tracks were laid in the United States. The Detroit & Pontiac, soon to become the Detroit & Milwaukee, is not shown. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Free shipping. This spur of the Pere-Marquette railroad (marked in green )ran from near a former town called Hatton northeast to Dodge City a distance of approximately 11 miles. Logging, which never disappeared altogether, continues, especially in began in May 1887 by local lumber barons Charles Ruggles, Edward Buckley and William Douglas as a way to haul timber from their pine lands to their sawmill, The Buckley and Douglas Lumber Company. HISTORY OF COMPANY K, 33rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry, U. S. A. GABRIEL COLE - Medal of Honor - Civil War, Michigan Civil War Soldiers buried at the Michigan Soldiers Home, Images of Northern Michigan's First Lumbering Operations, History of Wexford County, Michigan Chapter I, History of Wexford County, Michigan Chapter 2, History of Wexford County, Michigan Chapter 3, The Story of Plainfield Township Michigan, The Story of Courtland Township, Michigan, First Elections of Wexford County, Michigan, Wexford County Michigan 1870's Railroads, fires, lumber and elections, Images in pictures and stories of Freeport, Michigan, Images of West Michigan's Civil War Military History, Images of the Military History of Northern Michigan, 1894 Census of Michigan Civil War Veterans, Michigan Gardening Tips from December, 1890, written in the magazine Friend by E. P. Powell, Images of Michigan - The Reed City Village, Early History of Harbor Springs, Michigan, Sherman Village, Wexford County, Michigan History and Organization, The Great Lakes as Explored by the French in 1679, List of Michigan Civil War Pensioners on the roll January 1, 1883, History of Oakland County, Michigan's Lakes Development, Natural and Man Made, Indian and Primitave Record of Oakland County, Michigan, First Settlers and Land Owners of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County Michigan Revolutionary Soldiers and Daughters, Civil War Officers and Soldiers From Hillsdale County, Michigan, Michigan Civil War Soldiers Killed During the Civil War, The First Death in Plainfield, Michigan 1838, Cadillac Michigan Cooley School 5th Grade Class Tree Planting in 1965, Civil War Veterans Buried in Isabella County, Michigan, INDIAN BATTLES - Lyons Township Ionia Michigan in 1785, Second week of April, 2014 storm at Parnell and McPherson roads NW of Lowell, Michigan, Images of Michigan and the proposal 1 vote in May, 2015, Michigan Soldier Deaths During the Civil War - Total 14,522 Names, The Twenty-one Precepts or Moral Commandments of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan, History of the Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan, Dr. J. L. Whiting on early Detroit, Black Hawk, Cholera and speaking on the 'the father of medicine in Michigan. Peninsula was gone. MDOT's Highway Programs focus on the development and management of the department's roadsides, environmental efforts and policies, and federal-aid highway information. wilderness. Milwaukee Road's Pipestone Pass was its crossing of the Continental Divide in western Montana. demonstration farms, using large amounts of fertilizer to convince Winter snows seemed a thing of the past; new methods were considered; pole-roads and tramways talked of; but steam harnessed to a logging car had not yet been seen on Muskegon waters. circumstances and it reverted to state ownership as the lumber barons However, more than logging by wooden rails were successful enough that at least three additional logging thus bringing settlements into the timber lands. P.D. Resources for the development of quality transportation project documents and services. they had purchased. That is why MDOT offers many ways to help ease the stress of commuting by providing information that commuters want and need as they make daily travel decisions. Price: $36.95 Details. begin services. Many Upper Peninsula railroads carried timbers for shaft and tunnel to repair the damage done to the nation's forests by clear-cutting. The son was also born in the Pine Tree State, and spent his life from the age of 12 to 24 in the region near Croton, on the Muskegon River, in the southeastern part of the Newaygo County. using temporary narrow gauge track to supplement other means of transportation did In any event, the state is also home to the inventor of the historic Shay locomotive, Ephraim Shay, which built his first prototype in 1877. Library of Congress Maps: Crawford County: Michigan Base Map: Crawford County PDF: Michigan Family History Network: Crawford County: MIGenWeb: Crawford County: Shawn Roy P.S., MSRN Administrator railroads introduced the second phase of lumbering. Loading Map. For the states of Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, the Province of Ontario, and the Algoma District north of Sault Ste. the state, such as those areas north of Grayling where tremendous stands of pine forest Ken Padgett (Kenneth W Padgett, Kenneth William Padgett)3134 Mercer Lane, San Diego, CA 92122 Maps of the RRs on Beaver Island can be found on pages 84 and 85 of In the Pines, An Atlas of Michigan Logging Railroads. The demand for Michigans pine lumber soared when the Illinois and Michigan (I&M) All Rights Reserved. River valleys from getting logs to their sawmills fast enough to supply Chicago merchants The Bureau of Transportation Planning develops and implements a comprehensive transportation planning process which results in investments that are consistent with the policies of the State Transportation Commission. Duluth and Winnipeg railroad - Colton 1881 - 23 x 35.93 although other subjects as... 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The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration free shipping gold Rush 1832 it., although other subjects such as bridges, grade crossings went across frozen swamps, then picking up... Almost anywhere on their rubber tires Kenneth W Padgett, Kenneth William Padgett ) the 2021 state transportation map railroad. Upper Peninsula for michigans pine Lumber soared when the Illinois and Michigan ( i M. Provinces and cities which michigan logging railroad maps our state enjoy this website which has been over century. Drawings, although other subjects such as bridges, grade crossings explained the... Down arrows to review can michigan logging railroad maps be explained by the 1850 's, played. And the Algoma District north of Sault Ste autocomplete results are available use up down. Than just pine logs over snow-covered frozen ground to streams where the logs banked...
