Harvard was a post office and railroad station in Oakfield township, Kent County. It was originally settled as Griswold. The Harvard Post Office opened August 22nd, 1888. The 1897 Michigan State Gazetteer listed a population of 30, a post office, blacksmith, railroad express and telegraph agent, a hotel, two general stores, barber shop, a drug and hardware store, and a sawmill. By 1907, the population was up to 150 and the town boasted the addition of a physician, three saloons and telephone service. Harvard was 48½ miles from Ashley. It had a small station similar to the first station at Butternut (see the TS&M link below for photos of the various types of stations on the line). The next stations to the east and west were Lincoln Lake and Evans. The plat below shows its proximity with Lincoln Lake. Like many small towns created with or growing dramatically with the coming of the railroad, access to better roads, automobiles and trucks allowed more easy travel to nearby commerce centers of Greenville or Cedar Springs. Also, Rural Farm Delivery by the post office eliminated the need for many small post offices. Small towns like Harvard fizzled to a shadow of their former selves. Today, Harvard’s single commercial business is a Tavern and the town is otherwise only a small collection of homes.
In 1887-89, a railroad line originally known as the Toledo, Saginaw and Muskegon, was constructed between Ashley and Muskegon. Rails reached Carson City in September of 1887, Greenville in November of 1887, Cedar Springs and Muskegon by the end of the year. Construction continued in 1888 for ballasting, sidings and depots. On August 1st, 1888, a lease of the TS&M to the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was completed. GTC later purchased the line outright. A mail and express train and a mixed train (with passenger service) was operated daily between Owosso (over the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan to Ashley) and Muskegon. The line was locally known as the GT version of the Turkey Trail because it meandered like a turkey and also because it allegedly never made money.
In 1928, GTC was merged with other Michigan Grand Trunk subsidiaries into the Grand Trunk Western, itself a subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway. In 1930, GTW secured trackage rights between Grand Rapids and Muskegon over the Pennsylvania Railroad (former Grand Rapids and Indiana) Muskegon Branch. Service on the Turkey Trail was reduced to way freights and mixed trains. In 1946, with heavy service operating over the PRR, the portion of the line between Greenville and Muskegon was abandoned.
Mixed train service continued leaving Durand, to Greenville and back each day until the end of 1955. On January 1st, 1956, this was reduced to a way freight turn daily. On January 11th, 1983, the last train left Greenville and the line was abandoned after between Greenville and Carson City. The rails are still in place from Ashley to Carson City and are being occasionally operated from 1982 by the Tuscola and Saginaw Bay and since 2006, between Ashley and Middleton by the Great Lakes Central.
The grade passes through Harvard East to West at the point where the road toward north-north east from true north. The depot stood on the west side of Harvard road. The Harvard Fire Department burned the abandoned depot in the mid 1950's for practice, according to the resident Turkey Trail historian from RRHX. Recent reports of a 2/11/2014 fire being the Harvard Depot were inaccurate. The building that burned dated to early 20th century and was on the east side of Harvard road. It once housed the Harvard Fire Department. Fortunately, no one was injured in the recent fire.
Sources:
TS&M history.
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