Station: Lenawee Junction, MI

Lenawee Junction is located five miles east of downtown Adrian in Lenawee County. The location was settled about 1840 when the "Southern" line of the State of Michigan came west from Monroe and crossed the Erie and Kalamazoo branch line to Tecumseh here. This was likely the first incidence of two branch line railroads crossing at grade in the State of Michigan.

A depot was built here so that passengers could change trains and also to house a block operator to control trains on the three lines (the "Old Road", the Monroe Branch and the Jackson Branch.

Image Info: Top, a postcard view of trains at Lenawee Junction also also a view of a nearby business, likely some type of hotel for use by passengers. Train order signals are present on both lines. This photo is believed to be taken looking southeast, with the LSMS Old Road at the right, the train on the left on the Monroe Branch ready to leave for Monroe. The line going to the far left wye is the Jackson Branch.

2nd photo, the NYC wreck outfit from Toledo cleans up a minor derailment which occurred almost in front of the Lenawee Junction depot, in the 1940's. 3rd photo, the NYC wreck crane lifts the derailed locomotive back onto to the main track in front of the depot. 4th photo, the NYC wreck crew lifts a wheel set onto the flat car. It will be returned to the shops for repair and reinstallation. 5th photo, the Industrial Brownhoist wrecker picks up debris from the site. Note the large crowd watching operations at the wreck near the depot. [Photos 3-6 are Merlin Pruden photographs, David Pruden collection]. 6th photo, a 1976 view of the depot in a state of disrepair. [Doug Leffler].

7th photo a 2002 photo of the diamond (which still exists as of 2015. This is looking south on the Jackson branch and the crossing is the Monroe Branch. Note the cement curbs for the depot which is long gone. [Dale Berry].

8th photo, Conrail's Clinton Local stops at Lenawee Junction in 1977. [Doug Leffler]

Notes

David Harris, a local surveyor in Adrian, notes that he discovered a field note from the 1880's that indicated there may have been a depot west of the west wye switch, on the south side of the MS&NI track. The Palmyra Township map below suggests that this may have been a depot for the hamlet of "LeRoy" which is noted in the 1857 map below.

Time Line

Mid-1860's. Thomas Edison may have been a telegraph operator at Lenawee Junction for a short period. [PHTH-1940-0205]

1874. A group of tramps and vagrants "too idle and dissolute to do anything honest for a living" came into Adrian on a freight train and proceeded to "foot it" out of town by the Detroit track. They raided the premises of farmers and generally everything along their route. Among the suffers are the switch tender at Lenawee Junction and nearby farmers. They also kicked open the door of the railroad office at Deerfield Junction. Three were arrested by railroad detectives and sentenced to the Detroit House of Corrections. [DFP-1874-0731]

1909. Alone in the little railroad telegraph office and waiting room here Tuesday night with a demented woman, Operator J. B. Bloomfield was attacked by her, and for a while there was a fierce struggle. The woman was Mrs. Frank Alexandria, a former school teacher, and now wife of a wealthy Adrian man. Suffering from insanity brought on by religious excitement, Mrs. Alexandria walked from Adrian to this place. She is about 30, and of prepossessing appearance. Mrs. Alexandria walked into the waiting room shortly after nightfall.

She seemed quiet for several hours and then asked Bloomfield for something to read. He told her that he had nothing. This seemed to anger the unfortunate woman. She seized a stack of railroad documents and tore them up. Bloomfield attempted to stop her and the struggle began. She pulled a long pin and made a savage attack upon him. There was a desperate struggle, lasting several minutes before the operator overpowered her. Bloomfield then telephoned to the jail at Adrian for help. It was three hours before the officers arrived, and the insane woman divided the time between singing and praying and attacking the operator with her bare fists. She fought desperately when the officers took her. [PHTH-1909-0203]

Images below: 1st image, a map of Palmyra with a track diagram of the old Erie & Kalamazoo, before it was joined by lease with the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana. Note that the E&K had its own line into Adrian (before leasing their line to the MS&NI). 2nd image, about 1857, a view of the Junction after the E&K was removed west of Palmyra using the Michigan Southern line. The depot indicated at the west end of the wye was later moved or replaced by the permanent depot in the triangle for use by all three railroads at this location. [Both - Lenawee County atlases]