SWS - Big Rapids on the DL&N (PM) II Mystery Cache

Cache:

This cache is not at the posted coordinates. To find it, you must solve a puzzle after taking a history lesson. This cache replaces GC4P477 which was muggled almost as many times as I have fingers. The cache is hidden on the grade the former Pere Marquette Railroad. Do not cross the fence.

• N 43° 42.ABC W 085° 26.DEF
  
  
• A = Fourth digit of the year the line was extended north and west from Edmore, through several towns, to Big Rapids.
• B = Fourth digit of the year the PM abandoned the portion of the M&BR from White Cloud to Big Rapids.
• C = Sheet (page) number on the early Sanborn map showing the location of the DL&N depot .
• D = The number of the avenue west of the original DL&N depot now known as Park View Drive.
• E = Fourth digit of the year the Ionia, Stanton and Northern Railroad was built as far as Stanton.
• F = Fourth digit of the year of the Sanborn map showing the location of the original DL&N depot.
  
  
• A solution checker is at the bottom of the cache listing.
  

^{Big Rapids the Water Power City, Seely & Lowrey, 1906, UofM Bentley Historical Library and Google Books}
Pere Marquette Railroad Bridge, from Big Rapids, Michigan: The Water Power City.

Big Rapids:

The first white settlers in what is now the City of Big Rapids were the brothers Zerah and George French and their families, in 1854 or 1855, depending on the source. The state authorized the organization of Mecosta County in 1859 and established Leonard (for the township) as the county seat. By 1869, the area had grown sufficiently for the town of Leonard to become the city of Big Rapids.

^{Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Big Rapids, Mecosta County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Aug, 1884. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.}
Portion of the 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance overview map showing the locations of the
C&WM depot (C) and the original DL&N depot (D) before the two lines connected.

^{Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Big Rapids, Mecosta County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Aug, 1884. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.}
Portion of sheet 8 from the 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the DL&N passenger depot.

Railroads:

Three railroads came to Big Rapids in the decade starting in 1870. The first arrive was the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad from Grand Rapids. The second to arrive was the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (Muskegon and Big Rapids Railroad), from Muskegon. The third was the Detroit, Lansing and Northern, from Grand Ledge. The plat map below shows the location of rail lines and depots in 1889-1900 within Big Rapids. Note that two of the lines have different names, due to reorganizations (detailed below).

The bridge shown above was not constructed until some time after 1884. Originally, the DL&N depot was on the east side of the river, at Maple Street, just east of 2^nd Avenue. The precise location (the posted coordinates) was in the parking lot on the west side of the Alamode Cafe (built on the site of the former Collins Hotel). The rail line would have run through the Parkview Village triplex appartments between the ally and what used to be 1^st Avenue, now Park View Drive. By 1892, the bridge was built and the DL&N was sharing the depot on the east side of State Street.

^{Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Big Rapids, Mecosta County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Aug, 1899. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.}
Portion of the 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance overview map showing the bridge connecting the two future PM lines and the wye with the GR&I

Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad:

The line from the south-east started its life when the Ionia, Stanton and Northern Railroad was built from Stanton Junction, also known as Haynor, just north of Ionia, through Fenwick, Sheridan and Stanton in 1872. In 1876, The IS&N and two other lines were reorganized as the Detroit, Lansing and Northern. In 1878, the DL&N, extended the line from Stanton, through McBride to Edmore, where it connected with an east west line, the Chicago, Saginaw and Canada Railroad, (Saginaw to Howard City), itself then a part of the DL&N. In 1880, the line was extended north and west from Edmore, through Wyman, Blanchard, Millbrook, Remus, Mecosta, Rodney and on to Big Rapids, originally terminating at a depot on Maple Street just east of the Muskegon River. By 1892, the DL&N built a bridge over the river and began sharing the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore (later, the Chicago and West Michigan) depot. According to the 1899 Sanborn Map, the site of the DL&N was occupied by iced beer storage.

The DL&N and other lines were reorganized as the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western in 1897. In 1899-1900, the DGR&W, the Chicago &West Michigan (by then, the owners of the M&BR line) along with other lines, were reorganized as the Pere Marquette Railroad.

In 1926, with dwindling business, redundant coverage into Big Rapids and competition from the Grand Rapids and Indiana, the PM abandoned the portion of the original M&BR from White Cloud to Big Rapids. In 1943-44, the PM abandoned the Ionia line between Remus and Big Rapids, leaving only the Pennsylvania Railroad (formerly GR&I) to serve the city until it, too, was abandoned in 1984.

Sources:

• DL&LN/Wikipedia
• PM/Wikipedia
• PM Historical Society
• 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Big Rapids, Library of Congress
• 1889 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Big Rapids, Library of Congress
• Big Rapids the Water Power City, Seely & Lowrey, 1906
• Michigan Place Names, Walter Romig, Wayne State University Press, © 1986
• Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
• Michigan Railroad Liness, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press