The location of this cache is at the saw mill site at Deward, a station and post office on the Michigan Central Railroad. The cache is a small camouflaged lock-n-lock. It is one-third of a mile hike or drive from the trail head coordinates. You can drive to within about a hundred yards from the hide, but it is quite sandy in spots.
Frederic & Charlevoix railroad grade at Deward, 1890, courtesy of Classroomhelp.com
Deward was a logging town and camp established in 1901 in sections 7 and 8, township 28 N, range 4 W, in Crawford County. The town was named for lumber baron David E Ward. According to the 1907 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, Deward had a population of 300, including a postmaster, two constables, a barber, a general store and a saw mill. Deward also had an unusual two story depot, presumably to provide living quarters for railroad personnel. At its peak, the population was reported to be 800. The town boasted one of the largest and most modern sawmills and in the country. In 1912, once the white pine had all been harvested, the mill was dismantled and moved. By 1932 all residents had left the area as well. All that remains today are small parts of the mill foundation, a few foundations and depressions of where other buildings stood and railroad grades.
Deward Sawmill complex, circa 1910.
Courtesy of Clarke Historical Library, CMU, Charles Conn Slide Collection.
The railroad through Deward was originally built in 1893 by David E. Ward as the Fredric and Charlevoix, a logging operation. The rail line extended from the Michigan Central in Frederic, through Deward (company headquarters), Alba and on to East Jordan, with several smaller stops between. A branch was constructed to Blue Lake. In 1901, after Ward's death, his children, with a huge incentive to harvest the timber in the next decade, determined it was not efficient to ship the raw logs to Bay City, so they constructed the modern mill and upgraded the rail line to handle class 1 rolling stock. The line was reincorporated as the Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad.
D&C and later MC Depot, Deward, MI, circa 1910.
In 1907, the Michigan Central gained a controlling interest in the railroad, incorporating it into the MC in 1912. By 1930, the MC stopped operations on the line and with the lease by the New York Central of the MC, the D&C (known then as the East Jordan Branch) was abandoned and dismantled.
The town site and several square miles of the surrounding countryside have been included in the Deward Management Area or Deward Tract. The area allows limited access to motor vehicles, only on roads marked as open and camping only within 50 feet of these open roads. Wildlife viewing locations are identified throughout the preserve.
Listing updated 11/01/2013 and 3/14/2014 by aghudley.
Listing updated 09/15/2015 with photographs from Charles Conn collection in Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.
Sources:
Detroit & Charlevoix Railroad
Michigan Central Railroad
Photos of Deward, then and now (ghosttowns.com)
Petoskey News (slideshow of Deward)
Photo of F&C #1, "Alba"
Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
Charles Conn Slide Collection
DNR map of Deward Management Area
Grayling Historical Museum
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