SWS - Thompsonville on the C&WM (C&O) Mystery Cache

This daytime only cache is one of two replacements for GC4CXPR, which was susceptible to multiple "mugglings". The cache is not at the posted coordinates. To find the cache, solve the simple puzzle below.

^{Charles Conn collection, Folder 1, Box 5,6, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, used with permission of Mr. Conn.}
Chicago and West Michigan depot with bay window facing diamond and first interlocking tower. Handcar is on TAA&LM. .

Thompsonville:

Sumner S. Thompson operated a lumber company south of the village of Thompsonville. When the railroad came, he moved his lumber operation to the railroad and the village that sprang up around it was named Thompsonville. The original railroad stop was at Beecher, less than a mile southeast. Henry W. Beecher had established a settlement there in 1887. With the arrival of the second railroad, crossing further north, Businesses, a post office and railroad operations became focused in Thompsonville, leaving Beecher to become a part of Thompsonville. Edgar E. Hunt became the first postmaster in Thompsonville on August 15^th, 1890. Thompsonville was incorporated as a village in 1892.

^{Atlas of Benzie County, Michigan, C.E. Ferris, 1901, courtesy of UofM Digital Library.}
1901 Thompsonville plat showing Ann Arbor and Pere Marquette Railroads crossing.
The plat also shows a PM spur to the Thompsonville Cooperage Company paralleling the AA.

Railroads:

The Frankfort & Southeastern Railroad (F&SE) and the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Lake Michigan Railway (TAA&LM), predecessors of the Ann Arbor Railroad (AA, or Annie for short), reached Beecher, 7/10^th of a mile southeast of the future site of Thompsonville, on November 17^th, 1889. The Chicago & West Michigan Railroad, predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad arrived in 1890.

Chicago and West Michigan Railroad:

The Chicago and West Michigan Railroad (C&WM) worked its way north by extending a line from Baldwin to Traverse City. When the C&WM reached what would become Thompsonville, it crossed the F&SE. The C&WM established a station at the crossing. Rules also called for a new line crossing an existing line to establish and man an interlocking tower to guard against collisions at the crossing. Early photos show a two story tower and a station with a bay window facing the actual crossing diamond and what appears to be a wing along the AA line. That indicates that initially, the F&SE may have shared space in the C&WM depot. Later photos show two seperate stations and a single story interlocking tower. The roofline of the C&WM station had been modified over the bay facing the diamond.

^{Charles Conn collection, Folder 1, Box 5,6, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, used with permission of Mr. Conn.}
Pere Marquette caboose parked at PM depot. Newer, shorter interlocking "tower" and AA depot on right..

The C&WM was one of several Michigan railroads consolidated into the Pere Marquette Railroad (PM), on December 7^th, 1899. The PM began operations on January 1^st, 1900. The PM came under the control of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad May of 1929 and was merged into the C&O on April 1^st, 1947. C&O abandoned the line from Baldwin to Kaleva in 1956 and from Kaleva through Thompsonville to Grawn in 1982.

Cache:

The cache is located on the former C&WM/PM/C&O right of way. To determine its location, solve the following puzzle based in information from the cache page.

• N 44° 30.ABC W 085° 56.DEF
  
  
• A = Third digit of the year Henry W. Beecher established a settlement.
• B = Fourth digit of the year Henry W. Beecher established a settlement.
• C = Third digit of the year the PM was merged into the C&O.
• D = Fourth digit of the year the PM was merged into the C&O.
• E = Fourth digit of the year Thompsonville was incorporated as a village, plus 1.
• F = The day of the month several Michigan railroads were consolidated into the Pere Marquette Railroad.
  
  
• Check your solution

Sources:

• RRHX: Home
• RRHX: Thompsonville
• Pere Marquette Historical Society
• Pere Marquette Railroad
• Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
• Great Lakes Central Railroad
• Pere Marquette Railroad
• Atlas of Benzie County, Michigan, C.E. Ferris, 1901, UofM Digital Library
• Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
• 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
• In the Pines, An Atlas of Michigan Logging Railroads, © 2017 by James S. Hannum, M.D.