SWS - Howard City on the GR&I (PRR) Mystery Cache

This cache is not at the posted coordinates. It is hidden on the White Pine Trail near Howard City. To determine its location, solve the simple puzzle below. This cache is a replacement for the traditional cache, GC4E683, which was a frequent target for muggles. To make the find, park at the trail head near the posted coordinates, get on your bike or put on your walking shoes and head down the trail. It is a short bike ride or a good hike.

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Photo courtesy of Charles Conn Slide Collection, CMU Clarke Historical Library, used with permission of Mr. Conn.
GR&I Southbound Train at Howard City Union Depot and Freight House.

Howard City

The original plat (see sources) for the village of Howard was registered in November, 1869. The settlement was established by Benjamin Ensly, who owned the land, E.W. Muenscher and a Mr. Shaw. Muenscher was a civil engieer for the Grand Rapids and Indiana RailraodThe settlement was named for William A. Howard, a railroad attorney from Detroit, the land commissioner of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad from 1869 to 1871, and president of the GR&I from August 1871 through November, 1872. Mr. Howard had also been a congressman from Michigan between 1855 and 1859 and made an unsuccessful bid for a US Senate seat in 1871. After leaving the GR&I he became the land commissioner of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He left the railroad business to accept an appointment as the Territorial Governor of Dakota in 1878 by President Rutherford B. Hayes.

UpNorth Memories - Donald (Don) Harrison collection, used with Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Ensley and Edgerton Streets around the turn of the century.

A post office opened in Howard City on January 12^th, 1870, with John B. Spencer as postmaster. The 1872 plat of the First Addition (see sources) still shows the name of the village as Howard. The settlement was incorporated as the village of Howard City in 1873. The 1874 plat of the Second Addition shows the name Howard City. Main street was originally Ensley Street (Federal Road, old US 131). A massive fire in 1883 destroyed many of the downtown buildings. The business district then developed on Edgerton Street. According to some sources, between February 2^nd, 1895 and January 19^th, 1899 the name of the post office was shortened to Howard. The town developed rapidly around a railroad junction. By 1877 the population was already around 1000. Twenty years later, the population was reported as 1400.

Early industry included Henry Henkel's saw mill on Tamarack Creek, east of the GR&I tracks and his lumber yard on the west side. By the mid 1880s, H.H. McCall had a planing mill south of what is now Shaw street west of the GR&I main line and T.C. Prout had a flour mill just to the east, served by the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad. By 1892, Charles Skinner and and Henry Steenman had a Furniture factory north of Tamarack Creek, served by both the GR&I and the DL&N. Howard City was somewhat famous in the 1900s for the Olsen Knife Company.

Partial plat of Howard City in 1921, with GR&I and PM railroads. Union Depot is in blue.
By this time the sawmill and furniture factory at Tamarack Creek were long gone.

Railroads

During the railroad building boom, Howard City was the recipient of three rail lines. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad arrived on June 22^nd, 1869, coming from the south.. The Second line, the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad, reached Howard City in 1871, connecting from Greenville and points south-east. The third line, the Saginaw and Western Railroad arrived as an extension of a line from Saginaw to Lakeview in August, 1886. The S&W and DL&LM came under the control of the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad in 1876, were merged into the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western in 1897 and the Pere Marquette Railroad in 1899. All three lines made use of Union Depot built by the GR&I.

The widely referenced book, Michigan Place Names, errantly states that a station was established by the DGR&W in 1869, but that railroad, a consolidation of several lines including the DL&N, didn't exist prior to 1897 and that line didn't reach Howard (City) until two years later. It is unlikely but still possible that the DL&LM had a depot south of Shaw Street as the 1872 plat of the First Addition of Howard City (see sources) shows an large area labeled "Depot Grounds". No other evidence of a depot there has been found. The first GR&I depot was on the west side of the tracks at Edgerton Street. The second GR&I depot , Union Depot, was on the east side of the GR&I tracks and on the west side of the DL&LM tracks. This depot was probably built when or shortly after the DL&LM reached town. The very downsized depot and shelter at the trail head are used as a farm market.

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad

The GR&I spent thirteen years as a paper company before finally opening service between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs on Christmas Day, 1867. By the middle of June 21^st, 1869, the rails were down through Howard City and as far as Morley. Construction reached through Big Rapids to Paris in the fall of 1870, and Cadillac by the end of 1871. Trackage was also completed between Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1871, the GR&I acquired the Cincinnati, Richmond and Fort Wayne Railroad Company, extending the GR&I to Cincinnati. Trackage was extending northward as well. By late 1872, a branch was completed between Walton to Traverse City. In May of 1874, the line reached Petoskey and in July of 1882, Mackinaw City, becoming the longest north-south line in the country, at that time. As such, it had a large role in the settlement of northern Michigan. The primary business in the early years was timber and lumber. This shifted to tourism and advertised itself as “The Fishing Line”. In partnership with the Michigan Central Railroad, the company built and opened the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in 1887. In 1896, the GR&I was reorganized as the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway and came under control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). On December 12^th, 1953, the GR&I was merged into the PRR. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged to become the Penn Central Railroad in 1976, the PC abandoned many miles of Michigan rail lines, including all of the old GR&I north of Comstock Park. The Michigan Department of Transportation purchased it and contracted the Michigan Northern Railroad to operate it until 1984. Today, most of the line is gone. The portion between Grand Rapids and Cadillac has become the White Pine Trail. The portion between Cadillac and Traverse City/Petoskey is operated by the Great Lakes Central Railroad.

Cache:

This cache is not at the posted coordinates. To find the coordinates, answer the questions below. Use the checker to get your hint.

The cache is located at N43^o 23.ABC' W85^o 28.DEF'

• A = Last digit of the year the post office originally opened.
• B = Number of railroad lines (not companies) that used Union Depot.
• C = Last digit of the year there was a massive fire.
• D = Last digit of the last year the Michigan Northern operated the line.
• E = Last digit of the year the GR&I was merged into the PRR.
• F = Last digit of the year the line reached Petoskey .
  
  
• Check your solution

Sources:

• GR&I depots
• Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad
• Pennsylvania Railroad.
• Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad
• Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad
• Pere Marquette Railroad
• RRHX: Howard City
• RRHX Home Page
• Flickr: Don...The UpNorth Memories Guy... Harrison.
• William Alanson Howard, Biographical Directory of the US Congress.
• Original Nov. 1869 Plat of the Village of Howard by Ensley, Muenscher & Shaw
• 1872 plat of the First Addition to Howard
• 1874 plat of the First Addition to Howard City
• Standard Atlas of Montcalm County, 1921, G.A. Ogle & Co., UofM Historical Library
• Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
• Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
• Michigan Railroad Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
• Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, © 1986 Wayne State University Press