This cache is located on the former right-of-way of the Soo Line Railroad , originally the Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad , at the former station of Allenville. The cache is located on the St. Igance to Trout Lake Snowmobile Trail.
Allenville General Store, 2014
The former village of Allenville began as a place called 1st Kiln Stop. This name was given by the DM&M in 1881 when it laid track from St. Ignace to Trout Lake. There were a handful of Charcoal Kilns owned by the Martell Furnace Company. The village, centred around the kilns was named Allenville for MFco. supervisor Allen P. Hulbert. A post office operated here from 1898 to 1958, the post office was located in the now abandoned General Store. While you are here for the cache, be sure to check out the abandoned general store. Some of the shelves at the store are still stocked with some old items. Please do not enter the building or remove anything from it, it is Private Property.
What became known as the St. Ignace Branch of the Soo Line Railroad, began as the Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad . The DM&M was constructed in the years 1879 - 1881 from Marquette to St. Ignace. The railroad it's self never reached Detroit but, it offered service there as it shared ownership of the Mackinac Transportation Co. Despite it being granted a lot of land, the DM&M was not a financial success. It declared bankruptcy in 1886 but, continued to operate as the Mackinac & Marquette Railroad. In October of 1886, the M&M was sold to the McMillan Family for $1.05 Million. In December, the McMillans folded the M&M into the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad . The DSS&A operated the line until 1961, when it was folded into the Soo Line Railroad. The Soo Line operated the line till 1986 when it abandoned the line from Trout Lake to St. Ignace. Today, the old grade is used as the St. Ignace - Trout Lake Snowmobile Trail.
Sources:
Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway
Soo Line Railroad
Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, © 1986 Wayne State University Press Michigan Railroad Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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