This cache is on the former grade of the Pennsylvania Railroad, now the White Pine Trail, at the town and station site of Hobart. If you are not on a bike or on foot, park on 48¾ road to access the trail.
Former Swanson General Store on left and Clam Lake Township Hobart School in the center
Hobart School and students, courtesy of Wexford County Historical Society
The former lumber settlement of Hobart was established in 1871 in Clam Lake Twp. in 1871, when the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad established a station there. A post Office was established on July 7th, 1876 and remained open until January 30th, 1932. The school operated until 1945. The population in 1907 was about 75. Today, only a few newer houses dot the countryside.
Timber man, John Canfield, incorporated the Hobart and Manistee River Railroad (3' gauge) on July 11th, 1879 with $60,000 of capital. The intent was to construct a 15 mile line from the S. Branch of the Manistee River (Pine River), just inside Manistee County, to Hobart on the GR&I. 9.2 miles of the line were opened Sept 1, 1879. It is not clear if the line was built from Hobart or from the Pine River, but likely the former. The line was abandoned on May 1st, 1890. The 1889 plat map below and of one neighboring Cherry Grove Twp. show a tram line to Haynes Mill, about two miles west of Hobart. This is probably what was left of the H&MR
1889 plat map of Hobart
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 line 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.
Sources:
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad depot photos/
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad
Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, L.H.D., © Wayne State University Press, 1986
Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
Michigan RailroadLines, Graydon Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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