SWS - Reed City on the GR&I (PRR) Multi-Cache

Daytime only! Stealth required. Cache is not at posted coordinates. See description below.

Reed City Crossing, a replica of the former depot that was just south-east at the diamond.

Reed City

Reed City was first platted in 1870. A post office was opened on December 8^th, 1871, with Simpson Traut, postmaster. The village was officially incorporated by a special act of the legislature in 1872. The act was found to be unlawful by the courts and village was re-incorporated in 1875. The County Seat was moved from Hersey to Reed City in 1927. In 1932, the village was incorporated as a city.

By 1884, the town was booming with a population already over 2000. There were two flour mills, at least three planing mills, a furniture factory, a grain elevator, a woolen mill, a brick manufacture, a Marble and Granite works. There were many loads of freight shipped over the two railroads. There were also multiple grocery, hardware, dry goods, furniture, and general stores, along with a jeweler, shoe and boot stores, tailors, milliners, a furniture store, a machine shop, and countless other businesses. The first bank was established on January 1^st, 1880. There were two skating rinks, multiple hotels, multiple doctors, and a 16 member brass band. There were also already five different congregations in the town.

The population seemed to level off and today it is around 2400. General Mills/Yoplait is a major employer. Reed City is also home to the Old Ruged Cross Historical Museum, named in honor of the Reverand George Bennard, author of the popular hymn, The Old Rugged Cross. The museum is open daily, 1-4PM, May through September.

Southbound GR&I train approaches the Reed City depot.

Railroads:

Reed City was served by two Class 1 Railroads, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad and the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad, both arriving in late 1871. The GR&I beat the F&PM to Reed City by a few weeks. The GR&I constructed a depot on the south-west quadrant of the crossing. Originally, the F&PM had its station on the the north-east quadrant, but at some point, the F&PM vacated their depot and leased space in the GR&I Union Station.

Reed City railroad junction, 1900 plat, with the GR&I Depot and Freight House hi-lighted.

The GR&I began service between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs on Christmas Day, 1867. By the middle of 1869, the rails were down as far as Morley and on to Paris in the fall of 1870. Trackage was also completed between Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1871, the GR&I acquired the Cincinnati, Richmond & Fort Wayne Railroad Company, extending the GR&I to Cincinnati. Trackage was extending northward as well. By late 1872, a branch was completed between Walton to Traverse City. By the end of 1873, the line reached Petoskey and in 1882, Mackinaw City, becoming the longest north-south line in the country, at that time. As such, it had a large role in the settlement of northern Michigan. In 1886, the railroad also built a line connecting Grand Rapids and Muskegon.

The primary business in the early years was timber and lumber. This shifted to tourism and the GR&I advertised itself as "The Fishing Line". In partnership with the Michigan Central Railroad, the company built and opened the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in 1887. In 1918, the GR&I was acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad, which operated it until 1975. The Michigan DOT purchased it and leased it to the Michigan Northern Railroad until 1984.

Today, most of the GR&I mainline is gone. The portion of the line between Grand Rapids and Cadillac has become the White Pine Trail. The trail, a state park, is open to hikers and bicyclists in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter.

Cache:

The cache is a three stage multi with a field puzzle.

Stage 1, at the posted coordinates, takes you to the crossing of two former railroads. All you need to do here is admire what has been preserved. The original depot stood on the SW quadrant of this crossing. When you are done with the cache, walk down to the Reed City Crossing building, a loose replica of the depot that once served the two railroads.

State 2 is at N 43° 52.573 W 085° 30.482. It is a sign that contains the clues you will need to find the final. There are other interesting signs nearby that are worth reading, but the one you need is at the Stage 2 waypoint provided. Using information from this sign, answer the following questions and fill in the appropriate lettered spaces in the partial coordinate provided in the Stage 3 description below.

• A = First digit of the distance to Hersey.
• B = Distance to Big Rapids divided by two.
• C = First digit of the distance to Evart, minus 1.
• D = Sum of the first two digits of the distance to Evart.
• E = Number of consonants in the longest word beginning with C.
• F = Number of letter Fs on the west side of the sign.
  
  
• Checksum: A+B+C+D+E+F=22

Stage 3: Use the answers you found at stage two, substituting them into the partial coordinate below, to find the location of the final. This is a very high muggle area, so please use stealth and care when retrieving the cache. The final can be found at:

N 43° 52.ABC W 085° 30.DEF

Sources:

• 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 Osceola County, Michigan, P.A. Myers, 1900
• RRHX: Reed City
• MiGenWeb: History of Reed City, 1884 Portrait and Bio Album
• Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad
• Pennsylvania Railroad
• 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