The site of this cache is on the grounds of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Depot in Six Lakes. The depot is now the local history museum and the grounds are a small park, both owned by the village. The cache was hidden with their permission.
"Photo by AGHudley © 2013"
C&O Depot, Six Lakes Historical Museum
Six Lakes:
A settlement named Sumnerville was established by L. C. Sumner in 1873, approximately one half mile east of the village of Six Lakes. It was the first platted village in Belvidere Township. Nearby Six Lakes was platted in 1876 on the Flat River, just west of Sumnerville. When the railroad came through in 1878-9, a depot was established at Sumnerville, but rumour has it that it was moved in the middle of the night from Sumnerville to Six Lakes. A post office was established at Six Lakes on December 20th, 1878, and is still in service. As Six Lakes grew, Sumnerville faded. By 1907, the population of Six Lakes was reported to be 175.
Standard Atlas of Montcalm County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1897, courtesy of UofM Digital Library
1897 plat of Six Lakes and Sumnerville, Michigan. Depot is in blue.
Today, the depot is a historical museum. The museum is open 2-4PM on Saturdays in June, July and August. It is staffed by very interesting volunteers. A visit is highly recommended. Entry is free but donations are welcomed.
Railroad:
The Howard City branch of the Pere Marquette Railroad had its roots in several subsidiaries owned or leased by the Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad. The Saginaw and Western was selected to represent the line in the cache title because it completed the branch and it had the longest ownership prior to the Pere Marquette.
In 1873, the Saginaw Valley and St. Louis Railroad built from Saginaw to St Louis. In 1875, the Saginaw and Grand Rapids Railroad connected St. Louis and Alma. Also in 1875, the Chicago, Saginaw and Canada Railroad built the line between St. Louis, Alma, Elwell, Riverdale, Vestaburg and Cedar Lake. In 1878, the CS&C, in receivership, extended the line from Cedar Lake to Edmore where it connected the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. In 1879, the CS&C extended the line through Six Lakes to Lakeview. In 1883, the CS&C was reorganized as the Saginaw and Western Railroad. In 1886, the S&W extended the line through Amble to Howard City where it connected with the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad and another D&LN line through Greenville to Ionia. In 1897, the S&W, the S&GR and DL&N were reorganized as the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western. In 1899-1900, the DGR&W became part of the Pere Marquette Railroad.
More highways, trucks, and personal automobiles siphoned business away from railroads. Mergers also contributed to some lines being unnecessary. The line between Lakeview and Howard City was abandoned and removed in 1943. The PM became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1947. What remained of this line was part of the Grand Rapids Division , which ran from Elmdale, through Lowell, Belding, Greenville, Stanton and to Edmore and then east to Saginaw. In the fifties, sixties and seventies, it was not unusual to see very long trains on this alternate route to Grand Rapids. The C&O was merged into CSX Transportation in 1987. The line was removed between Edmore and Elwell in 1988. The line was abandoned between Alma and Elwell in 2003.
The portion of the old S&W between Edmore and the west side of Alma has become part of the Fred Meijer Trail.
Listing updated 11/1/13. 03/17/2014 by aghudley.
Sources:
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