Daylight only. This cache is on the former right of way of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, now the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail, and west of the former depot site in Saranac. Park downtown or at the new depot site. Do NOT record the milepost (mp) value in your log.
A turn of the century photo a westbound passenger train arriving at Saranac, courtesy RRHX
The Saranac Depot, one of three Witches Hat style depots on the Grand Trunk, was moved from its original location about a block east of its current location, and has been preserved as a museum. The plat map below shows the original location in red and the current location in orange.
Saranac, Boston Twp, 1906 Plat
The village of Saranac was first settled in 1837 and was incorporated as a village in 1869. In 1907, it had a population around 800 and boasted three churches, a public school, an opera house, bank, newspaper, post office, and several other businesses. Peaches and Apples are ground in the surrounding area and shipped from Saranac.
The Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad arrived in town in 1858 and established a depot. The D&M was created in 1855 as a consolidation of the Oakland and Ottawa Railroad and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad, and built a cross-state line from Pontiac to Grand Haven where a cross-lake ferry service was established.
In 1878, the D&M went into receivership and was purchased by the Great Western Railroad, who reorganized it as the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee. In 1882, the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada gained control of the Great Western. On November 1st, 1928 the DGH&M was merged into the Grand Trunk Western, a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway.
In 1930, the GTW moved its cross-lake car ferry service from Grand Haven to Muskegon and operated it there until 1977, abandoning its route to Grand Haven and eventually purchasing the line west of Marne and into Muskegon from the Pennsylvania Railroad. After the ferry service ended, business declined. In 1987 the line from Owosso to Muskegon was sold to Central Michigan Railroad. In 1993, the Grand Rapids and Eastern bought the portion between Fuller (in Grand Rapids) and Ionia and operates it as far as Lowell, primarily serving the Amway and the flour mill in Lowell. The portion from Lowell to Ionia was abandoned and has become the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail.
Sources:
Railroad History of Michigan: RRHX-Saranac
Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad, Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
Michigan Railroads & Railroad Companies. Meints, Graydon M. Michigan State University Press, © 1992.
Michigan Railroad Lines. Meints, Graydon M. Michigan State University Press, © 2005.
Michigan Place Names, Romig, Walter Wayne State University Press, © 1986.
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