SWS - Trufant on the DL&LM (PM) II Traditional Cache

Cache:

^{Charles Conn Michigan Railroad Collection, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.}
Trufant, Michigan Pere Marquette Depot, probably pre 20^th century, photographer unknown

Trufant:

Early settlers same to the area in the mid 1850s and cleared land for farming. The first tract of land in the area that would become Trufant was granted by the United States Government to Emory Trufant in 1854. He built a sawmill in 1871, allegedly the first steam powered sawmill in the county. He also built a homestead in 1872. He sold out shortly after to Joseph B. Hileman and Jacob Hessler. The latter two platted the village in 1874 and recorded it on March 10^th, 1875, as Trufant. A post office was established in 1871. The village was platted and recorded in 1875 and named for Mr. Trufant. At the end of the nineteenth century, Trufant had a population of 350, a post office, meat market, drug store, general store(s), multiple churches, a blacksmith, grist mill, shoe maker, physician, a school, hotel, livery stable and potato warehouse(s). Ten years later, the population was stable and telephone service was available. New businesses included produce, dry goods and clothing, an elevator, bakery, and a cigar manufacturer.

^{"Standard Atlas of Montcalm County, Michigan., G.A. Ogle, 1921, c/o UofM Digital Library"}
1921 plat map of Trufant with the depot shown in blue.

Trufant's roots were definitely in harvesting timber. Muskellunge lake was used by the timber industry as a log pond.The town claims to be the Pine Stump Capital of Michigan. When the timber harvest was over, agriculture took over. The area is still big in potato farming.

^{"Photo courtesy of Michigan Railroad History (RRHX), Greg Bunce collection."}
Potato warehouses, Trufant, Michigan, Photographer unknown

The DL&LM Railroad:

The rail line here was built from Ionia, through Greenville and on to Howard City in 1870-71 by the Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad, formerly the Ionia and Lansing Railroad. The DL&LM was reorganized in 1876 as the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Ralroad The DL&N was again reorganized in 1897 as the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western. In 1899, it became part of the Pere Marquette Railroad which was operated by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1928 and was incorporated into the C&O in the early 1947. The line between Ionia and Greenville was removed in 1942 and between Greenville and Howard City in 1943. Both Greenville and Howard City were served by alternate PM lines as well as other railroads.

The grade passes through town from southeast to northwest through the corridor visible between A street and E street, through the center of town. The depot site was where the former gas station stands, SE of the elevator.

Sources:

• Ionia and Lansing Railroad
• Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad
• Detroit, Lansing & Northern Railroad
• Pere Marquette Railroad
• Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad
• RRHX: Trufant
• MiGenWeb: Trufant.
• MiGenWeb: Railroads and Logging, Coral and Trufant
• Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1897, R. L. Polk & Co.
• Standard Atlas of Montcalm County, Michigan, G.A. Ogle & Co., 1921
• 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