This cache is on the former right of way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, now the Fred Meijer Flat River Valley Trail, near the site of the depot at Moseley. The cache is a two cup lock-n-lock.
Moseley
The settlement of Moseley was created one mile north and half a mile east of the existing village of Alton because of the railroad and the lay of the land. The rail line crossed what is now Lincoln Lake Road a half mile north of Alton. The original plan called for a depot to be built there, but the grade was sufficiently steep that it caused concern about being able to stop and start heavy trains there. Instead, a depot was constructed where the railroad crossed 4 mile road. Shortly after, the Moseley brothers built a potato warehouse by the tracks. A grocery store formerly in Alton was moved to the new village of Moseley, followed by other business, to be closer to the depot. A second warehouse and a stockyard was built north of the original warehouse. The first of three schools was built at the corner of 4 mile and Lincoln Lake Road. The small village grew and eventually shortened its name to Moseley. As more cars and trucks were in use, and farmers grew crops other than corn and beans, the need for a station at Moseley was reduced and it was removed. Over the coming years, the settlement imploded. The only thing left is the original (expanded) potato warehouse, used for apple storage, one or two original houses, and the Moseley School building, now a private residence. The depot has long since disappeared but the place was used as a passing siding by the railroad until the end of service.
Standard Atlas of Ionia County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1907, courtesy of UofM Digital Library
Alton (Vergennes) and Mosley Plat, Vergennes Twp., Plat 1907, GA Ogle & Co.
A combined 1907 plat of Moseley and neighboring Alton (labeled Vergennes PO) is shown above. The settlement of Alton was dwindling while Moseley was growing. This isn’t the only reported location of the Vergennes Post Office. It is also originally reported (at different times) to be at the intersection of Bailey and Parnell roads, south west of this location.
Railroad
In 1899, the Grand Rapids, Belding & Saginaw Railroad (GRB&S) extended its recently purchased Lowell and Hastings Railroad (L&H) from Lowell to Belding, connecting with the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western (DGR&W). The DGR&W apparently had a lease of the GRB&S. This line opened on January 1, 1899 by the Pere Marquette Railroad (PM) and eventually became the main line between Saginaw and Grand Rapids. In 1947, the PM became part of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (C&O). The C&O was merged into CSX Transportation in 1987. The line was removed between Greenville, through Edmore to Elwell in 1988. The remainder, Elmdale to Greenville was sold to the Mid-Michigan Railroad (MM) on December 18>supth, 1986. The MM headquarters were in the Greenville C&O Depot. In 2007, all but the segment from Malta (across the Grand River from Lowell) to Lowell was abandoned. The portion from Greenville to Lowell was purchased by the Fred Meijer Flat River Valley Trail (not yet improved).
Sources:
Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad
Pere Marquette Railroad
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
CSX Transportation
Mid-Michigan Railroad
Vergennes Township Living History.
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