This daytime only cache is on the former grade of the Pennsylvania Railroad, now the Musketawa Trail, near the station site at Conklin.
GR&I depot at Conlkin, circa 1900
Conklin:
The first known settler of what would become the village of Conklin was one Ananias J. Peugh (or Pugh, depending on the source). Some time later, the land was purchased by Oscar F. Conklin who built a general store. When the Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad began construction of a rail line from Grand Rapids to Muskegon, Mr. Conklin influenced the railroad to pass by his store and settlement in Chester Township. A station, West Chester, was established. The first train reached the station on December 1st.
1912 plat map of Conklin
On June 2nd, 1887, a post office was established with Henry Miller the first postmaster. Oscar Conklin petitioned the Federal Government to name the location "Conklin", as he was the person who established the settlement. By 1897, the population was 150 and the village boasted a Congretational Church, a creamery, grist mill, two hotel, one with a saloon. The village also had hardware and lumber outlets, a drug store, a grocery store, one or two general stores, a barber, a blacksmith shop, a physician and a justice. Ten years later, the population had grown to 200 and services included a bank, telephone company and a weekly newspaper, The Conklin Enterprise, and a school. Several business were also added to the community. The community had become a thriving stop on the railroad with many good farms and orchards in the area.
Farmers waiting to load their peaches on the train
Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad:
The GR&I spent thirteen years as a paper company before being built. Service began 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 this line connecting Grand Rapids and Muskegon as the Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad.
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.
The station at Conklin had an agent until late 1858, the last of which was Mrs. A.S.Carpenter. Thereafter, until the station closed altogether, it was managed by the agent at Muskegon.
The then deteriorating Muskegon branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad was purchased by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad on April 1st, 1976. By 1978, however, GTW rail car ferry operation between Muskegon and Milwaukee had ended and the line became unprofitable. GTW sold its entire line from Durand to Grand Rapids and Muskegon to the Central Michigan Railroad on September 4th, 1987. The CMR was unable to sustain business on the line and by the end of 1989, service was discontinued on the original MGR&I. The line from Walker to Muskegon was abandoned on December 14th, 1989. The remainder of the line, from Muskegon Junction (in Grand Rapids) to Walker had previously been abandoned in two phases, in 1961 and 1983.
Musketawa Trail:
Today, the most of the MGR&I has been converted into the Musketawa Trail, open to hikers, bikers and horseback riders... and geocachers. A link is provided below.
Sources:
- Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad depot photos
- Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad
- Chester Township History and Genealogy
- The Coopersville Observer, Friday, July 31st, 1931 courtesy of Ottawa County MiGenWeb.Net
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1897, R.L. Polk & Co.
- Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1907, R.L. Polk & Co.
- 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
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