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.
Bisonnette:
Bisonette was a whistle stop about twelve miles up river from Au Sable on the old tote road. It was originally known as Beadle for the family that first settled there. John Bisonette and his wife were also pioneer settlers in Iosco County and chose Beadle to raise their family. It is believed that the Bisonettes operated a makeshift boarding house for lumberjacks traveling to and from various camp in the river basin. The 1903 plat map shows a school and a trout pond on the site. At some point in time, the settlement at Beadle took on the name Bisonette. That is how it was shown on railroad timetables after the turn of the century. Neither Beadle or Bisonette was ever organized as a village, but there are still several homes at the site. John and his wife, Josephine, are buried in the Pinecrest Cemetery in Oscoda.
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 of Potts.
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 1, 1914. The D&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 a traditional hide on the side of the grade, east of the site of Bissonette's camp. Be careful with traffic parking along the road.
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.
- Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad
- The Gateway to a Home - AS&NW Railway
- Detroit and Mackinac Railway
- Detroit and Mackinac Historical Society
- Michigan Forest Association
- 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
- 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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