This cache was hidden as part of the Abandoned Railroads of Newaygo County Geocache Rail Tour, presented by the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center and Silent Whistles. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Newaygo County form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.
This day time only cache is on the former right of way of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, east of the station site. The cache is on land owned by the city of Newaygo. At least one neighbor to the south is aware of the cache.
Fremont Station on the Pere Marquette, with a westbound passenger train.
Fremont Station on the Pere Marquette, looking north-east.
The first settler in the area of Fremont was a pioneer named Daniel R. Joslin, who built his log cabin nearby in 1854. The next year, Wilkes Stuart and Daniel Weaver arrived, cleared land for farming and established a settlement. On August 23rd, 1856, a post office called Weaverville was opened, with Daniel Weaver as its forst postmaster. Fremont Township was established in November, 1855, named for John C. Fremont, a western explorer and one time Republican Party presidential candidate. On October 18th, 1862, Weaverville was renamed Fremont Center. It was incorporated as a village in 1875 and the name shortened to Fremont in 1882.
While there was some timber harvested prior to the civil war, the timber boom here began after the war's conclusion. In 1871, Fremont Center was all but destroyed by a forest fire, but rebuilt and helped supply lumber to rebuild Chicago after its great fire in the same year.
Fremont's real claim to fame is the Gerber family who established a tannery here in the mid 1890's. The family started to manufacture baby foods in 1928. Gerber has been a major employer in Fremont for over a hundred years.
1900 plat of Freemont. Tannery and station are in left quarter.
What became the Big Rapids Branch of the Pere Marquette Railroad was incorporated as the Muskegon & Big Rapids Railroad, with backing from the owners of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad. Construction began in 1872. Before it was completed, the M&BR was consolidated into the C&MLS. The line was completed to Freemont Center by the end of 1872 and service began to Big Rapids on July 21st, 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.
PM Train Leaving Fremont, crossing bridge over mill pond.
In 1878, the C&MLS, was reorganized as part of the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad. In late 1899, the C&WM, the Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western Railroad and the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad were purchased and merged into the Pere Marquette Railroad, which began operations January 1st, 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 Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, the PM abandoned the portion of the original Big Rapids Branch from White Cloud to Big Rapids.
In 1947, the PM was merged into its parent, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. In 1963, with revenues down and another C&O line running north-south through White Cloud, the line between Freemont and White Cloud was abandoned. Today, the remaining portion, from Berry to Freemont, is operated by Michigan Shore Railroad.
To claim a prize:
- Download and print the Ticket to Newaygo County form (PDF). See alternate below.
- Find 28 of the 35 cache hides in the table below.
- Find at least five of the seven mystery and multi caches in any combination.
- Record the milepost number from the label or log of each cache you find on a printed copy of the form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers.
- Each individual GC account holder making the find must sign and date the paper log book in the cache with their GC account name. No group logs please.
- Optionally, upload a photo of your log entry. Be careful to not include the milepost value in the photo.
- Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form.
Once your answers have been verified, the prize will be sent back to you via US Mail to the address you provide on the form.
The first 95 cachers to complete the tour will be awarded a Silent Whistles pathtag commemorating the Big Rapids Branch of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad.
One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account.
Download the Ticket to Ride form:
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PDF) to download a printable version the form (PDF).
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PNG) to download an alternate, less clear graphic version of the form.
If you don't have access to a printer, printed copies can be obtained at the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center, or by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to the address on the bottom of the form.
Sources:
- Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad
- Chicago and West Michigan Railroad
- Pere Marquette Railroad
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
- Michigan Shore Railroad
- RRHX: This Location
- RRHX Home Page: Railroad History of Michigan
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1877, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1897, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Atlas of Newaygo County, Michigan, E.L. Hayes, 1880
- Standard Atlas of Newaygo County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1900
- Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, © 1986 Wayne State University Press
- Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
- Michigan Railroad Liness, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
[arnc]
Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center at: 12 Quarterline Road, Newaygo, Michigan (at the downtown light).
Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center on Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 7:00PM for the Heritage Speaker Series topic: Logging and Railroads in Newaygo County by Dr. Carl Bajema. Reservations are required