SWS - Big Rapids on the M&BR (PM) Mystery Cache

This cache is not at the posted coordinates, which are at the former location of the Pere Marquette depot. The cache is on the former Pere Marquette grade west of town. To locate the cache, solve the puzzle below.

^{"Photo from Big Rapids the Water Power City, Seely & Lowrey, 1906, courtesy of the UofM Bentley Historical Library and Google Books"}
Pere Marquette Big Rapids Depot, from Big Rapids, Michigan: The Water Power City.

The first white settlers in what is now the City of Big Rapids were the brothers Zerah and George French and their families, in 1854 or 1855, depending on the source, who established their home where Mitchel creek dumps in to the Muskegon River, just east of the cache site. The state authorized the organization of Mecosta County in 1859 and established Leonard (for the township) as the county seat. By 1869, the area had grown sufficiently for the town of Leonard to become the city of Big Rapids.

The first few decades of Leonard/Big Rapids existence were tied to the lumber boom. Early on, logs were moved primarily by floating them down the Muskegon River. The arrival of the railroads in the 1870s and later accelerated the boom and helped establish related industry in Big Rapids. The manufacture of furniture was established in the city.

A technical and trade school was established in 1884 by Nathan Ferris. The initial enrollment was 15. Within a couple of decades, enrollment was near 2000. Mr. Ferris became Governor in 1912 and a US Senator in 1922. Surviving several setbacks over the years, Ferris State University is now the leading employer in Big Rapids.

Three railroads came to Big Rapids in the decade starting in 1870. The first to arrive was the Grand Rapids & Indiana from Grand Rapids. The third was the Detroit, Lansing & Northern, from Ionia. The second to arrive was the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, from Muskegon. The plat map below shows the location of rail lines and depots in 1889-1900. Note that two of the lines have different names, due to reorganizations (detailed below).

^{Plat Book of Mecosta County, Michigan, P.A. Myers, Consolidated Publishing Co., 1900, UofM Digital Library}
1900 plat with PM depot in blue, GR&I depot in red.

The line from the west began life as the Muskegon & Big Rapids Railroad, with financial backing from the owners of the C&MLS and on July 27^th, 1872, while construction was underway, the M&BR was formally merged into the C&MLS and became the Big Rapids Branch. The line was completed to Freemont Center by the end of 1872 and service began to Big Rapids on July 21^st, 1873. The line shared trackage north of Muskegon with another C&MLS subsidiary/branch, the Montague, Pentwater and Manistee, as far as Big Rapids Junction, now known as Berry.

In 1878, the C&MLS, was reorganized as part of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad. In 1881, the C&WM and three other lines were consolidated into the Chicago and West Michigan Railway. In late 1899, the C&WM, the Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western (formerly the DL&N) and the Flint & Pere Marquette were purchased and merged into the Pere Marquette Railroad, which began operations January 1^st, 1900, a few short years before the end of the railroad boom in Michigan.

In 1926, with dwindling business, redundant coverage into Big Rapids from Ionia, and competition from the GR&I, the PM abandoned the portion of the original Big Rapids Branch from White Cloud to Big Rapids. In 1943-44, the PM abandoned the Ionia line between Remus and Big Rapids, leaving only the Pennsylvania Railroad (formerly GR&I) to serve the city.

The approximate location of the C&MLS/C&WM/PM depot is at the blue rectangle on the above plat map, which was in the the block north of Mitchell Creek Park. The DL&N also shared this depot prior to its merger into the PM.

To locate the cache, solve simple puzzle based on information in the cache description. Since this is a college town, the bar should be a little higher, therefore there are a few more opportunities for error.

N 43 AB.CDE W 085 FG.HIJ

1. A = Third digit of year the PM abandoned the line from Remus to Big Rapids
2. B = Second digit of the day of the month that service began into Big Rapids on the M&BR (C&MLS)
3. C = Third digit of the year that Nathan Ferris built a trade school
4. D = Fourth digit of the year Leonard was renamed, minus 1
5. E = Fourth digit of the year the C&MLS was reorganized as part of the C&WM
6. F = Initial enrollment of the trade school, divided by 5
7. G = Day of the month the PM began operating
8. H = Fourth digit of the year that a technical and trade school was established in Big Rapids
9. I = Number of railroads that came to Big Rapids in the late 1800s, plus the number of railroads left after 1944
10. J = Second digit of the day of the month that the M&BR was formally merged into the C&MLS

Check your solution

Sources:
GR&I.
C&MLS.
C&WM RR and C&WM Ry.
Pere Marquette.
1900 Plat Book of Mecosta County, MI, UofM Digital Library
Big Rapids the Water Power City, Seely & Lowrey, 1906<</a>.
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