This Daytime Only cache was hidden as part of the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad Geocache Rail Tour, presented by Silent Whistles, the Oscoda - Au Sable Historical Museum, and the Steiner Museum. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Au Sable form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.
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AS&NW Train at the Detroit & Mackinac Railway Au Sable - Oscoda depot
Oscoda:
What would become Oscoda was a land purchase by the lumbering company of Smith, Kelley & Dwight in 1867. Edward Smith platted and named the settlement. Neighboring Au Sable had established a post office in 1856. The Au Sable River was the dividing line between the two towns. In 1874, the Au Sable post office was relocated and then renamed Oscoda on July 1st, 1875. The village was incorporated in 1885
By 1877, the population had grown to 1000 and twenty years later to 1200. There were several sawmills here in in neighboring Au Sable, plus many shops and businesses. A large salt works was also a contributor to the success of the town. Great Lakes boats tied up at the docks near the mouth of the Au Sable River and large amounts of lumber related products were shipped over water. In 1883, the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad had reached Au Sable. A depot was constructed to serve both Oscoda and Au Sable in 1875 on what is now Sunset Road near Pine Street. Foundations of the depot and water tower are still visible there. The railroad brought many people and products in and provided an additional avenue for forest related products out. In 1891, the Potts Logging Railway extended its McKinley based narrow gauge railroad to Au Sable to connect with the D&M
A great volume of forest procucts were delivered to the railways and the docks for shipment elsewhere in the state and other Great Lakes ports. The area was nearly completely reliant on the forest related industries.
Oscoda dock where people boarded the Niko during the fire
In 1911, a massive forest fire wiped out most of Oscoda and nearly all of Au Sable. The village had a difficult time recovering from the fire and vacated its charter in 1919, reverting back to township government. Due to the nearly complete destruction of the 1911 fire, very little written documentation exists today for the area prior to the fire.
Railroads:
Two railroads served the Au Sable - Oscoda area over the years, with one, the Detroit and Macinac (D&M), surviving in the form of the Lake States Rail Corporation. The second, the Au Sable and Northwestern (AS&NW) has been gone for nearly a century. Both were built by logging interests.
Railroads in Au Sable and Oscoda 1883-Present.
The D&M had an inauspicious beginning as the Lake Huron and Southwestern Railway, constructed in 1878 between Tawas City and Prescott in southeast Ogemaw county, using a narrow gauge of 3'-2" between the rails. In 1880, the line was sold to the Tawas and Bay County Railroad. The T&BC extended the line five more miles west-southwest to Shearer. The line was again sold in 1882 to the Bay City and Alpena Railroad, owned by the Alger, Smith and Co (logging). In 1883, the BC&A was renamed the Detriot, Bay City and Alpena Railroad. The DBC&A connected the line to Alger on the Jackson, Lansing and Saginaw (leased and operated by the Michigan Central Railroad. The DBC&A also built the line north, commencing service to Au Sable and Oscoda on December 3rd, 1883. The line was pushed further north to Lincoln by the end of 1885. By the fall of 1886, the DBC&A had been converted Standard Gauge (4' 8 1/2" between the rails) and reached its northern terminus of Alpena. The DCB&A went into receivership on August 1st, 1893. The Detroit and Mackinac Railway was incorporated on December 17th, 1894, as a reorganization of the bankrupt Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad. The D&M purchased the Alpena and Northern Railroad in 1895. In 1896, the D&M built its own line from Bay City to National City, abandoning the connection between Alger and National City. The line was through Lincoln was bypassed in 1901 in favor of a lakeshore line through Harrisville. The line was eventually extended it to Cheboygan in 1904. Oddly enough, the D&M never reached Detroit and only actually reached Macinaw City when it purchased a portion of the old Michigan Central line through Gaylord and Cheboygan to Macinaw City in 1976. In 1992, the D&M was sold to Lake States Rail Corporation who still operates it from Bay City to Alpena.
What became the Au Sable and Northwestern was started in 1886 by the J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company as a private line. It was renamed the Potts Logging Railway in 1887. Potts built the line from it's company headquarters (Potts, later McKinley) in eastern Oscoda County. The logging only railroad was built using narrow gauge (3' between the rails). The railroad was constructed in two different directions from Potts to tap stands of timber. One line was built northwest to what would become Fairview, then on to lumber camps at a place called Tong in north-west Oscoda County. A second line was built south-west into northern Ogemaw County, then west, then north back in to Oscoda County, along Big Creek to Lewiston. In 1889 or 1891, depending on the source, Potts made a bold attempt to connect his isolated lumber railroad to the outside world and become a common carrier (passengers and other freight in addition to its primary revenue, logging). He extended the line south-east to connect with the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad in Oscoda and to the docks in Au Sable along the river. In doing so, Potts overextended the company and it failed financially. The troubled Potts Logging Railway was purchased by the H.M. Loud Lumber Company on July 17th, 1891. Henry M. Loud reorganized the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad. Loud also renamed the town of Potts to McKinley, for the 25th president. Loud continued to make changes to the railroad, tearing up rails and moving them elsewhere to tap new resources.
On January 2nd, 1907, after the passing of Henry Loud, the railroad and lumber business was purchased from the rest of the heirs by Henry N., George A. and Edward F. Loud, as the H.M. Loud & Sons Co. A new charter was obtained for the railroad and on December 26th, 1907, it was reorganized as the Au Sable and Northwestern Railway Company. The parent company moved the railroad headquarters to Comins and built a new connection to Comins from Russell north through places called Hardy and Millen. The old lines from Russell to McKinley were abandoned. The fire of 1911 destroyed the company's lumber operations in Au Sable and nearly did the railroad in, but it somehow survived. Construction of several power generating dams along the Au Sable river were contributing factors. On June 1st, 1912, the Detroit and Mackinac Railway leased the AS&NW with the option to purchase, then exercised that option on June 1st, 1914. The D&M converted the main line and a profitable branch to Curran to standard gauge. They also built a by-pass of the first three miles out of Au Sable, eliminating a bridge on the original line over the Au Sable River. The D&M, a small classs 1 railroad, had a history of being profitable and well maintained and seemed a good suitor to the AS&NW, but an expected influx of farm traffic to fill vacated cut over timber lands never happened, largely due to the countries demands toward manufacturing to support World War I. Maintenance of the line suffered and traffic dwindled. Finally, in 1927 the saga of the Au Sable and Northwestern came to an end. The D&M abandoned what was left and of its Au Sable River Branch.
Cache:
This cache is not at the posted coordinates. It is a four stage multi-cache. To find the stages, follow the instructions below.
The cache is hidden in the Pinecrest Cemetery, near the former D&M depot that was shared with the AS&NW. Please respect the law and only seek this cache during daylight hours.
The posted coordinates take you to sign in front of a slab of concrete which used to support the Au Sable - Oscoda depot. Get information off the sign to find stage 2. Character codes are A=1, B=2, etc.
- Stage 1 is at the posted coordinates. To find stage two, solve the puzzle below and insert the results into:
N44o 25.ABC' W83o 20.DEF'
- Notice 9/19: At some time recently, the sign at Stage 1 has been damaged and reassambled in a different configuration than it was originally. The line that was on the top ("Historic Site") is now on the bottom. The list below includes, at least for now, the correct solution for each letter.
- A = Fifth letter of the first word on the second line. (2)
- B = First letter of the last word on the third line. (4)
- C = Number of letters in the first word on the last line. (5)
- D = Number of letters in the first word on the second line. (7)
- E = First letter of the first word on the first line. (8)
- F = Fourth letter of the second word on the first line. (5)
- Stage 2: Proceed to the waypoint calculated at Stage 1. You should be at a redish marker that is for the family of a former lumberjack and conductor on the AS&NW Railroad. There are no dates on the stone. Just north of this marker are a matching pair of headstones for two couples. Using information from these headstones, solve the puzzle below and insert the results into:
N44o 25.ABC' W83o 20.DEF'
- A = Fourth digit of the year Alice was born, plus 1.
- B = Fourth digit of the year that Ruth died.
- C = Third digit of the year that Ruth died.
- D = Second digit of the year that Fred was born.
- E = Third digit of the year that Alvin died, plus 1.
- F = Fourth digit of the year that Alvin died, minus 5.
- Stage 3: Proceed to the waypoint calculated at Stage 2. It isn't far. You should be at a twin white headstone that says Father on one side, Mother on the other side and has a last name on the back of the base. The name is of namesake of one of the stops (and geocaches) northwest up the railroad line. Using information from this headstone, solve the puzzle below and insert the results into:
N44o 25.ABC' W83o 20.DEF'
- A = Number of people remembered on this stone.
- B = Fourth digit of the year Josephine died.
- C = Fourth digit of the year John was born, plus 2.
- D = Third digit of the year Josephine was born.
- E = Third digit of the year John was born, plus 3.
- F = Fourth digit of the year Josephine was born, plus 4.
- Stage 4: Proceed to the waypoint calculated in Stage 3 to find the cache. Again, it isn't too far.
- Check your solution
To claim a prize:
- Download and print the Ticket to Au Sable (PDF).
- As an aide, download and print the RAAS Recommended Route Map (PDF).
- Find at least 46 of the 57 (80%) cache hides in the table below.
- Find at least seven of the ten mystery and multi caches, in any combination.
- Record the milepost value from each cache you find on this form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers. Do not record the milepost value in your log at geocaching.com or it will be deleted.
- Each individual GC account holder making the find must sign and date the paper log book in the cache with their GC account name. No group logs please.
- Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form. One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account. Multiple forms per mailing is encouraged.
Once your answers have been verified, the prize will be sent back to you via US Mail to the address you provide on the form, while supplies last. One hundred prizes have been minted..
Resources:
Sources:
Many thanks to the hard work and research performed by Mr. Graydon Meints, which would have taken years to do on my own.
Also, thanks to Charles Conn for allowing the use of his collection of photographs at the Clarke Historical Library, and thanks to the Library staff for their help.
Also, thanks to James S. Hannum, Michigan and Washington railroad author, for sharing research, opinions and guidance along the right of way.
- AS&NW History by Silent Whistles
- RRHX: Au Sable & Northwestern Railroad
- RRHX: Oscoda
- RRHX: Railroad History of Michigan
- Detroit and Mackinac Railway
- Detroit and Mackinac Historical Society
- 1911 Oscoda Fire
- 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.
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
- The Gateway to a Home - AS&NW Railway
- Iosco County and Lake Huron Shore Log Marks, Neil Thornton, Printer's Devil Press, © 1981
- Pickups and a Horse, William Ellis, 1935, © 1975
- 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 Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
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