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This
cache was hidden as part of the tRails Along the Au Sable 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.
AS&NW / D&M Au Sable River Branch, Doane to Lott, ~1915.
Doane
Doane, sometimes referred to as Doans, Doan or Doanes, was a non-descript stop on the AS&NW and later, the D&M. A man believed to be Elmer Elsworth Doan(e), from New York, settled here and carried on various trades of the lumber business. It is known that Doane was near the site of a large hole or bend in the Au Sable River where Mr. Doan had a cedar rollway for dumping logs in the river. Mr. Doan was once trapped by logs at his rollway until other lumberjacks floating a large raft of logs down the river found and rescued him. He was fortunately, largely unhurt. After the railroad was built, Doan was very likely a site where logs were loaded onto railcars. Not much else was discovered about this location, but there are still four named roads/streets here and several homes, indicating the settlement endured. It was still a stop on the railroad after the Detroit and Macinac bought the line.
The map above shows a portion of the line from Doane, just west of Seven Mile Hill, to Lott, just southeast of Glennie, with the spurs to three Au Sable River dam sites. The map below shows the railroad as it existed prior to interest by the Detroit and Mackinaw, with the original North Branch from between McKinley and Russell.
AS&NW, 1898, Seven years after the purchase by Loud of Potts Logging Ry.
Railroad:
In 1886, the J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company built a narrow gauge (3' between the rails) logging railroad from it's company headquarters at Potts (later McKinley) in eastern Oscoda County. On July 27th, 1887. Potts organized the railroad as the Potts Logging Railway. 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.
Potts made a bold attempt to connect his isolated lumber railroad to the outside world and become a common carrier (passengers and other freight). By early 1891, he extended the line south-east to connect with the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad and Great Lakes Shipping docks in Au Sable. In doing so, Potts overextended the company and it failed financially.
The troubled Potts Logging Railway and its parent, J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company 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. New lumber camps and loading decks popped up along the line, including at Vaughn.
The 1911 fire in Oscoda and Au Sable all but wiped out the lumber company. On June 1st, 1912, the Detroit and Mackinac Railway leased the AS&NW with the option to purchase. The option was exercised on June 1D&M had an interest in havesting remaining lumber, but also used the railroad to haul construction equipment and materials to several hydro-electric dam sites along the river. In late 1915 and early 1916, the D&M converted the main line to Commins and a branch to Curran from narrow to standard gauge (4' 8 1/2" between the rails). An anticipating influx of farmers and settlers following the timber harvest did not materialize, largely due to World War I. The railroad suffered over time and in 1927, the D&M finally abandoned what had become their Au Sable River Branch which ran through here.
Cache:
The cache is hidden on the AS&NW grade a little over a mile west of the location of Mr. Doan's camp.
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.
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Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad
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The Gateway to a Home - AS&NW Railway
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Detroit and Mackinac Railway
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Detroit and Mackinac Historical Society
- Michigan Forest Association
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- RRHX: Au Sable & Northwestern Railroad
- 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.
- Iosco County and Lake Huron Shore Log Marks, Neil Thornton, Printer's Devil Press, 1981
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- 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
Proud Lake Superior Member since March 31st, 2020
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