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.
McKinley area showing comings and goings of rail lines.
Waterhole Hill:
Waterhole Hill was a water stop for the log trains. Most likely, a good spring existed where the railroaders tapped a standpipe into for loading the locomotive tenders water tank. Solid data is lacking for this place and doesn't show up on any timetable discovered to date. The time frame of the existence of a "stop" at Waterhole Hill and a connection between it and Crooked Lake Junction (Hardy) are almost pure speculation. A strong case can be made for the earliest line to Crooked Lake branching off the old North (Lewiston) branch from Waterhole Hill, as shown on the above map. Most likely, this line was abandoned by the time the new line from Russell, through Hardy to Comins was built in 1906-07.
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.
After acquiring the business, Loud renamed the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern. Shortly after, he extended the north branch of the railroad further northwest to Lewiston and Bear lake, and over the next ten years, removed the south branch and most of the original north branch, and built the line to Comins to tap stands of timber there. Eventually, the line was moved to pass through Hardy and McCollums and extended from Hardy east to Curran.
A fire at the railroad shops in McKinley in 1900 prompted the railroad to move its headquarters to Commins, several miles north. With the construction of the new North Branch, and timber tapped out along older branches, the original line to McKinley and the connection to the old north branch was abandoned in 1907. McKinley turned into a ghost town until the late 1940s.
Cache:
The cache is a traditional hide on the grade branching toward Waterhole Hill and Crooked Lake Junction. The grade can be clearly seen at this location. Drive in from the south on USFS 4013 (the North Branch grade) off Old State Road. There are gates on this and other access points that are closed part of most of the year, presumably to keep people from turning the trail, which crosses plenty of private property to the north west, into a snowmobile trail.
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
- RRHX: Au Sable & Northwestern Railroad
- Detroit and Mackinac Railway
- Detroit and Mackinac Historical Society
- Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
- 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 Ghost Towns Volume II, Roy L. Dodge, © 1971 Glendon Publishing
- 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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