This cache was hidden as part of the Abandoned Railroads of Newaygo County Geocache Rail Tour, presented by the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center and Silent Whistles. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Newaygo County form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.
This cache is on the grade of the West Michigan Lumber Company Railroad about three quarters of a mile south of the site of the West Michigan Lumber Company sawmill at Park Lake.The cache is on property owned by the US Forest Service.
Park City Mill, West Michigan Lumber Company.
Park City was a station on the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad in 1884. The West Michigan Lumber Company built its third sawmill here, just two miles north of its second mill at Diamond Lake. The mill was served by the company narrow gauge railroad, which supplied logs that were cut into lumber and shipped over the C&WM.
West Michigan Lumber Company train in Park City.
The company finished its harvest and the mill was dismantled in 1890 and moved elsewhere. The settlement dried up and the railroad moved its station to Brookings. When the settlement ceased to exist, the Pere-Marquette Railroad Depot was relocated to Brookings to replace a smaller station. The West Michigan Lumber Company Railroad was also
The only thing left of Park City today are depressions in the ground where buildings or equipment once stood. The site is within the Loda Lake Wildflower Sanctuary, about a mile north-west of the cache site.
The still in service rail line that served the sawmill began life as the White River Railroad in 1880. It was included in the Chicago and West Michigan in 1881, then Pere Marquette Railroad in 1899, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1947, and CSX in 1987. It is currently owned by the State of Michigan and is operated by Marquette Rail.
To claim a prize:
- Download and print the Ticket to Newaygo County form (PDF). See alternate below.
- Find 28 of the 35 cache hides in the table below.
- Find at least five of the seven mystery and multi caches in any combination.
- Record the milepost number from the label or log of each cache you find on a printed copy of the form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers.
- Each individual GC account holder making the find must sign and date the paper log book in the cache with their GC account name. No group logs please.
- Optionally, upload a photo of your log entry. Be careful to not include the milepost value in the photo.
- Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form.
Once your answers have been verified, the prize will be sent back to you via US Mail to the address you provide on the form.
The first 95 cachers to complete the tour will be awarded a Silent Whistles pathtag commemorating the Big Rapids Branch of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad.
One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account.
Download the Ticket to Ride form:
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PDF) to download a printable version the form (PDF).
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PNG) to download an alternate, less clear graphic version of the form.
If you don't have access to a printer, printed copies can be obtained at the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center, or by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to the address on the bottom of the form.
Sources:
- White River Railroad
- Chicago and West Michigan Railroad
- Pere Marquette Railroad
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
- The October Project, Newaygo County, Michigan
- Lumbering in Newaygo County, Harry L. Spooner, © 1946, Cooper Press, reprinted 1976 by the Newaygo County Historical Archive
- Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, © 1986 Wayne State University Press
- Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
- Michigan Railroad Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center at: 12 Quarterline Road, Newaygo, Michigan (at the downtown light).
Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center on Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 7:00PM for the Heritage Speaker Series topic: Logging and Railroads in Newaygo County by Dr. Carl Bajema. Reservations are required