This cache is located near the former grade of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, by the former sawmill and station of Reeds. The cache is not at the posted location. To locate the final, solve the puzzle below. The cache is hidden on rural road right-of-way.
Reeds Station, Algoma Twp. Plat, 1894
Reeds was a small settlement in section 5 and 6 of Algoma Township that sprung up in 1889, with the coming of the railroad. The Toledo, Saginaw & Muskegon Railroad constructed a depot there, on the north side of Indian Lake Road. The 1894 Algoma Township Plat Map shows the sawmill of W.S. Bass located at the village site, near the depot. According to the 1897 Michigan State Gazetteer and Business Directory, Reeds had a population of 19, a cooper shop, general store, and blacksmith. The general store was owned by George Misner, the village post master. Today, the village is long gone but, remnants of a mill pond can be seen along the small stream running through the town site.
Former Mill Pond of the W.S. Bass Sawmill at Reeds
In 1887-89, 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. A mail and express train and a mixed train (freight with passenger service) was operated daily between Owosso (over the Ann Arbor Railroad to Ashley) and Muskegon. The line was known as 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. A short portion through Simpson was maintained until the mid 1970s to service nearby industries.
To locate the cache, solve this simple puzzle based on information in the cache description.
N43° 12.ABC W085° 37.DEF
- A = Number of Sawmills located at Reeds in 1894, Minus 1.
- B = Third digit of the year the GTW secured trackage rights between Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
- C = Fourth digit of the year the Gazetteer listed the population of Reeds as 19.
- D = Third digit in the year that Reeds was established.
- E = Last digit in the year that the railroad continued construction for ballasting, sidings and depots.
- F = Fourth digit of the year of the Algoma Township Plat map referred to on the cache page.
Sources:
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