The location of this cache is near the site of the Edmore depot on Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, on private property with permission.
"Postcard image courtesy of Michigan Railroad History (RRHX), Mark Worrall Collection."
Unique Edmore Pere Marquette Depot, after the turn of the century
Edmore:
The village of Edmore was founded and platted by Edwin B. Moore, a real estate man, in 1878. A post office opened on July 22nd, 1878 with Abraham West, postmaster. Edmore was incorporated as a village in 1879.
Edmore was blessed by the railroad coming to town twice within a year. Both lines eventually became part of the Pere Marquette and later, the Chesapeake and Ohio. The railroad name of the station, at first, was Edmore Junction.
Railroad:
The first line approached from the south. The Ionia, Stanton and Northern Railroad was built from Stanton Junction (later known as Haynor), just north of Ionia, through Fenwick, Sheridan and Stanton in 1872. In 1878, the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad, now the owner of the IS&N, extended the line from Stanton, through McBride to Edmore in 1878. The line was extended north and west to Wyman, Blanchard, Millbrook, Remus, Mecosta, Rodney and Big Rapids, where it connected with the Grand Rapids and Indiana and Chicago and West Michigan Railroad . The line built branches from Rodney to Chippewa Lake in 1883, from Remus to Weidman in 1893, and from Mecosta to Barryton, also in 1893.
The second line approached from the east. 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 another DL&N subsidiary, the Ionia, Stanton and Northern. 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.
Standard Atlas of Montcalm County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1921, UofM Digital Library
Edmore, 1921 Plat. Depot is on SW corner of railroad junction.
In 1901, The PM built a line from Greenville through Sidney to Stanton. This connection allowed the line from Elmdale, south of Lowell, through Edmore, then eastward, the main line between Grand Rapids and Saginaw. It also made the old IS&N, from Haynor to Stanton, redundant. It was abandoned by the PM in 1933. More highways, trucks and personal cars reduced the area's reliance on the railroads. The line between Greenville and Ionia was abandoned in 1942. The line between Greenville and Howard City was abandoned in 1943. The line between Lakeview and Howard City was abandoned and removed in 1943. The line between Big Rapids and Remus, including the Blanchard Branch was abandoned also abandoned in 1943. The Weidman branch was removed in 1944. The PM became part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1947. What remained of this line was part of the Grand Rapids Division. In the sixties and seventies, it was not unusual to see very long trains on this alternate route to Grand Rapids.
Continuing to downsize, the C&O abandoned the line between Lakeview and Edmore in 1973. The line between Remus and Edmore was removed in 1981. The C&O was merged into CSX Transportation in 1987. The line was removed between Greenville, through Edmore to Elwell in 1988. The line from Alma to Elwell was abandoned in 2003. The line was removed between Greenville and Elmdale in ~2006.
Today, the line from Greenville through Edmore then east to Alma is the Fred Meijer Heartland Trail, a paved bike and walking path. The trail is a joy to ride.
The Depot served the junction of the north-south line and the east-west line. The depot was located in the lawn east of where Railroad Street curves to the south, on the southeast side of the rail junction. There were two wye tracks to allow interchange between the lines.
Listing updated 11/1/13, 3/17/2014 and 11/21/17 [agh].
Sources:
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