SWS (RMNE) - Solon on the M&NE (C&O) Traditional Cache

Manistee County Historical Museum

Cache:

This cache was hidden as part of the tRails Meandering North-Easterly Geocache Rail Tour, presented by Silent Whistles, the Manistee County Historical Museum and the Crawford County Historical Society and Museum. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Manistee form. See the To Claim a Prize section below for specific tour requirements. See the Resources section below for links to the Ticket to Manistee, Tour Cache List, and a Recommended Driving Route Map.

You are looking for a soda preform about 65 yards east of the grade, which is in the tree line angling across the field.

^{Photo courtesy of Traverse Area District Library, GT Pioneer and Historical Society Collection.}
First Solon Depot, circa 1908. TADL copy lists this as Remains of the depot

Solon:

The first settlers came here in 1866 from a town by the same name in Ohio. A post office was established on February 13^th, 1870, with William F. Hannaford as postmaster. The 1877 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory lists Solon as A postoffice at a farm house in Solon Township, 12 miles northwest of Traverse City, whence it receives a semi-weekly mail. M.C. Cate, postmaster, shoemaker and farmer.

The Manistee and Northeastern Railroad arrived here some time in 1892 and established a station. In 1894-95, a three mile branch was constructed northwest to the village of Cedar City. This branch was first known as the Cedar Branch, then the Glenn Arbor Branch, which was never reached, and finally the Provemont Branch. There was also a siding on the main line, about half way to Fouch, known as Bahle's Switch. Parcels owned by Buckley & Douglas and by L.E. Bahle can be seen the plat below in sections 15 and 16.

, C.E.Ferris, 1900, c/o UofM Digital Library" alt="Solon Township 1900 plat" src="http://drive.google.com/uc?export=&confirm=no_antivirus&id=1EbLKidzmUpk5sbAu_PSpyeqQPjjWOQwq" style="border:5px ridge #3F48CC;" />
^{Atlas of Leelanau County, Michigan, C.E.Ferris, 1900, c/o UofM Digital Library.}
Solon Township 1900 plat showing Rhutardt's (LL), Solon, Fouch's (UR) and Cedar (UL).

By 1897, the population was about 40, with a saw mill and a general store. By 1907, there is no mention of the general store. The depot pictured above was at least partially destroyed by fire in this time frame and replaced with a brick structure similar to several others along the line. The rail line between Kaleva and Ruthard's Siding was removed in 1934. A potato warehouse at Ruthard's and businesses in Cedar were served until the remains of the line from Hatch's west was abandoned in 1954. Aerial imagery from that year (copyrighted) shows what appears to be the second depot at the west leg of the wye meats the main, west of Hoxie Road and on the southeast side of the mainline. Today there are several homes in the area but no sign of a village and barely legible signs of the grades, grown over with trees.

M&NE Main Line, Manistee-Traverse City:

^{1912 M&NE timetable, Mike Hankwitz collection.}

Construction of the main line began from Manistee in the spring of 1887. The line opened for freight business in October, 1888 and was completed as far as Bear Creek, 18 miles from Manistee, on January 14^th, 1889. On April 28^th, 1889, the line reached Lemon Lake, 25 miles from Manistee. By September 29^th, 1889, the line was open to Nessen City, 33 miles from Manistee. On June 1^st, 1890, the line was nearly 45 miles long and had reached Interlochen. On October 13^th, 1890, the rails reached Lake Ann, 52 miles from Manistee and only twelve miles from Traverse City, as the crow flies. A direct route would not be taken, however, and after winding another 18 miles north, then east, then south-east, the line reached Traverse City on June 25^th, 1892.

The line's sole purpose at its inception was to haul logs. The company purchased some passenger cars and began passenger service on January 6^th, 1889, with the first train reaching Bear Creek, 20 miles from Manistee (notice that this date conflicts with the date in the previous paragraph for when the line actually opened to Bear Creek, with the information from two different sources). The service was immediately popular and the M&NE began running two passenger trains daily. Through passenger service between Manistee and Traverse City was never a big draw but local passenger service was very popular. As time went on and the logging business dwindled, the railroad turned its attention to agriculture and general freight.

After the Pere Marquette took over the line, it reduced its redundant footprint in the area by closing the M&NE main line between Kaleva and Solon in Leelanau County on April 10^th, 1933, using its own line (the former Chicago and West Michigan main line to Petoskey) between Kalava and Traverse City instead. The Interstate Commerce Commision authorized the abandonmenton of the closed M&NE line between Kaleva and Solon on June 19^th, 1934. In 1947, the C&O merged the PM into itself, it took control of the M&NEx. In 1954, the C&O abandoned the five miles between Solon and Hatchs. On November 30^th, 1955, the C&O officially merged the M&NE into the parent company, thus ending the identity of the M&NE. It then then abandoned its own line between Baldwin and Kaleva in 1956, favoring the M&NE route between Manistee and Kaleva. In 1982, the C&O abandoned its line from Kaleva to Grawn and all of the remaining M&NE trackage outside of Manistee.

Sources:

• Manistee and Northeastern Railroad, michiganrailroads.com (RRHX)
• M&NE History, Trainweb.org
• Manistee and Northeastern Railroad (Wikipedia)
• Pere Marquette Historical Society: M&NE
• Manistee County Historical Museum
• Crawford County Historical Society
• History of Manistee and Northeastern Railway Company, Erwin F. Olsen © 1956 E.F. Olsen, UofM Digital Library and HathiTrust.
• Atlas of Leelanau County, Michigan, C.E. Ferris, 1900, UofM Digital Library
• Traverse Area District Library
• Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads of the State of Michigan, for years 1889-1906, Google Books
• Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, Google Books
• 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
• Michigan Railroad Atlas, Volumes 1-4, Graydon M. Meints © 2017, Michigan State University Libraries
• In the Pines, An Atlas of Michigan Logging Railroads, James S. Hannum, M.D., © 2017 Hannum House Publications

To claim a prize:

1. Download and print the Ticket to Manistee (see Resources) and take it with you caching.
2. As an aide, download and print the RMNE Recommended Route Map (see Resources).
3. Follow the instructions on that form to find the required number and combination of the hides.
4. All hides in the tour are identified on the Ticket to Manistee and in the bookmark list.
5. Look for Mile Post values on the cache labels and log books to record on the form.
6. Please do not record the Mile Post values in your on-line log or they will be deleted.
7. Please do not post photos showing the Mile Post values with your on-line log.
8. Please do not post photos showing answers to field puzzles with your on-line log.
9. 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.
10. Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form or scan and send a digital copy using GC email or the GC message center. 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:

• Ticket to Manistee (PDF).
• RMNE Recommended Route Map (PDF).
• SWS (RMNE) Bookmark List on gc.com.
• Bookmark lists for other Geocache Rail Tours:
  • SWS (RAAS): tRails Along the Au Sable (6/2016)
  • SWS (ARNC): Abandoned Railroads of Newaygo County (9/2014)
• Bookmark list for Entire Silent Whistle Series:
  • Silent Whistle Series

Contributors:

I would like to express my special thanks to the following people and organizations who have helped either directly or indirectly with this project:

• Charles Conn for allowing me to use of his collection of photographs at the Clarke Historical Library. Mr. Conn thought this would be a good non-profit way to share some history.
• Mark Fedder and the Manistee County Historical Museum for being gracious cohosts.
• Mike Hankwitz and Charles Showalter, both of whom provided a portion of their digital collection, both private and that of the Manistee County Historical Museum, in support of this project.
• The Crawford County Historical Society for being gracious cohosts and providing materials.
• The Traverse City District Library, for help with and blessing to use their digital library.
• Dr. James Hannum, for sharing research, opinions and guidance along the right of way.
• James Harlow for sharing many items out of his collection and his memories.
• Dale Berry and michiganrailroads.com, always a source of great information.
• Graydon Meints, for his hard work and research which would have taken years to do on my own.