SWS - Palmerville on the P&PMR Traditional Geocache

This cache was hidden as part of the Abandoned Railroads of Newaygo County Geocache Rail Tour, presented by the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center and Silent Whistles. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Newaygo County form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.

This cache is hidden on the grade of the Paris and Pere Marquette River Railroad, just east of the site of Palmerville. The cache is hidden on US Government Property, part of the Pere Marquette National Forest. Fifty feet east-south-east of the cache, the grade becomes apparent. You can walk this grade to very near another cache.

Palmer, Nichols & Co. (Paris & Pere Marquette River) Locomotives.

Palmerville was a settlement at or near the end of the Paris and Pere Marquette River Railroad. A post office was established here on May 25^th, 1883, lasting only until July 21^st, 1884. It followed the nearby Norway Hall Post Office, just across the county line in Lake County, which was established April 8^th, 1875, operating until June 3^rd, 1878. Norway Hall School is reported to have been on the Newaygo County side of the line, just east of Locust Avenue. Palmerville was named after Luke Palmer, of the Palmer, Nichols and Company, who became the postmaster. The precise locations of Palmerville and Norway Hall have not been determined.

The Paris and Pere Marquette River Railroad was incorporated on June 15^th, 1882, to connect Paris (Upper Paris) on the Muskegon River, north of Big Rapids, with the timber operations of Palmer, Nichols & Co. in far north-east Newaygo County and far south-east Lake County. The railroad was owned by the lumber company and was often called the Palmer and Nichols Railroad. The line was a 3' narrow gauge (or possibly 3'1" gauge) built solely to extract lumber from the region and dump it in the Muskegon River. The sixteen mile line was abandoned in 1889 at the end of the timber harvest in the area.

To claim a prize:

1. Download and print the Ticket to Newaygo County form (PDF). See alternate below.
2. Find 28 of the 35 cache hides in the table below.
3. Find at least five of the seven mystery and multi caches in any combination.
4. Record the milepost number from the label or log of each cache you find on a printed copy of the form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers.
5. 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.
6. Optionally, upload a photo of your log entry. Be careful to not include the milepost value in the photo.
7. Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form.
   
   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.
   
   The first 95 cachers to complete the tour will be awarded a Silent Whistles pathtag commemorating the Big Rapids Branch of the Chicago and Michigan Lake Shore Railroad.
   
   One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account.
   
   
   

SWS - Fremont on the M&BR (C&O)	SWS - Newaygo on the RHLCo
SWS - Wooster on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Newaygo on the NPCCo (PM)
SWS - Ryerson Station on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Erwin on the NPCCo (PM)
SWS - Alleyton on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Marl Lake on the NPCCo PM)
SWS - White Cloud on the M&BR (C&O)	SWS - Croton Dam on the CPCo
SWS - Eastman on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Hardy Dam on the CPCo
SWS - White River Club on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - West Troy Junction on the WR (C&WM)
SWS - McLane on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - West Troy on the WR (C&WM)
SWS - Fields on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Sisson on the S&L (C&WM)
SWS - Kinney on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Lilley Junction on the S&L (C&WM)
SWS - Wilcox on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Foxville on the OFCo (C&WM)
SWS - Swains Crossing on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Keno on the OFCo (C&WM)
SWS - Cardinal Junction on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Stimson on the BR&W (GR&I)
SWS - Hayes Siding on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Vincent on the BR&W (GR&I)
SWS - Woodville on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Palmerville on the P&PMR
SWS - Lumberton on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Diamond Lake on the WMLCo
SWS - Hungerford on the M&BR (PM)	SWS - Park City on the WMLCo
SWS - Turnbulls Siding on the M&BR (PM)

Download the Ticket to Ride form:

Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PDF) to download a printable version the form (PDF).
Click Ticket to Newaygo County (PNG) to download an alternate, less clear graphic version of the form.
If you don't have access to a printer, printed copies can be obtained at the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center, or by sending a self addressed stamped envelope to the address on the bottom of the form.

Sources:

• The October Project, Newaygo County, Michigan
• Lumbering in Newaygo County, Harry L. Spooner, © 1946, Cooper Press, reprinted 1976 by the Newaygo County Historical Archive
• 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

Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center at: 12 Quarterline Road, Newaygo, Michigan (at the downtown light).

Visit the Newaygo County Museum and Heritage Center on Thursday, September 11th, 2014 at 7:00PM for the Heritage Speaker Series topic: Logging and Railroads in Newaygo County by Dr. Carl Bajema. Reservations are required