This cache is accross the road from the site of the Rugg School, on property that is part of the Rugg Pond Natural Area, owned by Kalkaska County.
Portion of Rapid River Township, Kalkaska County
Town Name: Rapid River, Mossback, then Rugg
Population: 0
Reason for Becoming a Lost Town:
End of the timber harvest.
Town History:
A village was first established in 1867 and named Rapid River, for the township. The Rapid River post office was opened on November 8th, 1871, H.N. Hill, Postmaster, but only lasted a little over two years. It closed January 14th, 1874.
On January 30th, 1885, a second post office was opened here and given the name Mossback, with J.W. Morley as postmaster. The name mossback was that given to men during the Civil War that hid themselves to avoid conscription into the Army of the Confederacy. The notion was they would stay hidden until moss grew on their backs. One might be reminded of the draft dodgers of the 1960s and early 1970s. Later, the term was also used to describe extremely conservative politicians.
On October 3rd, 1898, the Mossback post office was renamed Rugg in honor of pioneer Roland F. Rugg, who homesteaded in Rapid River Township in 1876. He was a Civil War Veteran and was the Sheriff of Kalkaska County from 1893-1897. Rugg is buried with his family in the Evergreen Cemetary in Kalkaska.
In the late 1890s, the village included a general store and a sawmill on the river. A school was also constructed at some time, and appears on the 1927 map. Rugg became a stop on the Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad (later the Pere Marquette Railroad when the line was constructed between Rapid City, Kalkaska and Stratford.
No population is listed in either the 1897 or 1907 Michigan State Gazetteers, but several families are noted. The post office closed December 31st, 1906.
Notes of Interest:
Nothing remains of the former village. The precise location of Rapid River, Mossback and finally Rugg has been reported on various maps as on the south boundary of the Rugg Pond Natural Area, or one mile south, on Seeley Road. The Rugg School site is more likely accurate, as it is considerably closer to the former GRK&SE rail line than the site further south.
Rugg Pond was created in 1904 for the Kalkaska Power and Light. It was condemed in 1980. The dam itself was saved by concerned citizens, and preserved as part of the Rugg Pond Natural Area.
Sources:
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