SWS - Dewings on the GR&I Traditional Cache

Pond at site of Dewing's

Dewing's

In the fall of 1880, three men named Dewing, Halladay and Henry L. Watson, engaged in the lumber business in Baldwin and moved their interest to Le Roy Township. They set up a saw mill on the pond here and first called the place Dewey's. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad established a switch and siding at the mill. The place was also known as Dewing's Siding, Dewing's Station and simply Dewing. In 1883, the lumber company was reorganized as the Ashton Lumber Company, which continued to operate a sawmill and general store here until after the turn of the century. The Storekeeper, J.A. Erickson, established a post office here named Dewing's on April 7^th, 1900 lasting until April 20^th, 1907. With the timber harvest complete, it is assumed that the mill and store were closed and the flagstop station closed as well. The historical location of Dewing shows up on a 1940s plat map, but no other details are available.

Dewing's, 1900 plat

Dewing's, and the surrounding area, was the host of more than one sawmill. An 1878 plat map shows a siding and mill just south of Dewing's labeled Butler's. No additional information has been found regarding that location. It is a strong possibility that the site was actually at Dewings and the plat map was in error. Notice the abundance of property owned by the railroad on this plat. Many start-up railroads in the mid 1800s were land grant roads, with the government deeding sections of land along the proposed right-of-way for the railroads to sell, thus funding construction of the line and town's along it.

Butler's, just south of Dewing's site, 1878 plat

The Railroad

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.

The Cache

This cache is on the former Pennsylvania Railroad right of way, now the White Pine Trail, near the site of Dewings Siding and Post Office. The town site of Dewing has been completely obliterated by the US 131 free-way. The pond is private property, so please do not approach it.

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, E.L. Hayes, 1878
• Plat Book of Osceola County, Michigan, P.A. Myers, 1900
• Images of Michigan, Pioneers of Osceola County
• Portrait and Biographical Album of Osceola County"
• Grand Rapids and Indiana 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