This cache is located north of the former Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad, later Pere Marquette Railroad, rail yard at New Buffalo. The cache is hidden on land owned by the City of New Buffalo.
New Buffalo Railroad Corridor, 1887. MC depot highlighted in Maroon, C&MLS facilities highlighted in light blue.
The Gateway of Michigan, New Buffalo, was plated in 1834 and incorporated in 1835. Early development of the village can be attributed to the Michigan Central Railroad who made New Buffalo it's western terminus in 1849. The MC built two piers into Lake Michigan, for passenger steamers from Chicago. A large hotel and many other shops and inns were constructed along the tracks. The town was booming, the shore of Lake Potawatomi (now swampland) was dotted with sawmills. Unfortunately, the boom was short lived as the MC extended it's line into Chicago in 1853 and passengers no longer stopped at New Buffalo. Many buildings were moved on flat car to Three Oaks, where the boom was still thriving. The town was practically abandoned, only a few residents remained, some accounts even calling it a "Ghost Town".
New prosperity came to New Buffalo in the 1860's with a wave of immigrants, German mostly, looking to settle in the area. They cleared land for farms and established multiple churches and small shops. The MC built a depot to accommodate the new residents. The village continued to have modest growth as a small village. The Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory of 1864 lists a population of 500, three churches, two hotels, boot & shoe maker, physician, drug store, two general stores, saloon, two carpenter shops, and a justice of peace.
In 1870, New Buffalo became the southern terminus of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad. The C&MLS built a rail yard, along with a turntable and roundhouse. It connected with the Michigan Central at Mahew Street. There is no record of the C&MLS ever constructing a depot so, it's very likely that it used the Mechanic Street Depot, in conjunction with the MC. The C&MLS facilities were used by the Pere Marquette Railroad up until the 1920's, when the PM built a different line on the south end of town.
The Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad was chartered in 1869 and built a 27-mile line between New Buffalo and St. Joseph, which opened on February 1st, 1870. Also in 1870, The C&MLS built the Grand Rapids & Lake ShoreRailroad between what would become North Yard in Muskegon, and Nunica, connecting with the D&M. Running rights were negotiated with the D&M to gain access to Grand Rapids. The GR&LS was consolidated into the C&MLS, on August 15th. The line from the south was extended from St. Joseph to Grand Junction in northern Van Buren County on February 28th, 1871, and through Holland to Waverly by June 30th, 1871. In 1871, the C&MLS built the link from Waverly to Nunica and extended the line north from Muskegon to Montague and eventually Pentwater and Big Rapids.
In 1878, the C&MLS, was reorganized out of receivership as the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad. On July 16th, 1881, the C&WM, the GRN&LS and two other lines were merged into into the the Chicago and West Michigan Railway. In late 1899, the C&WM, and two other companies were purchased and merged into the Pere Marquette Railroad, which began operations January 1st, 1900.
In the 1920's the PM began construction of a large new rail facility on the southern rim of New Buffalo. To service it, a new line was constructed from the facility to Union Pier. Due to this, the original C&MLS line from along the lake shore, from New Buffalo to Union Pier was abandoned.
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