Location: East Lake, MI

East Lake is located on the east side of Manistee Lake, in Manistee County. The community became a home rule village in 1912.

East Lake was served by the Manistee interurban line, as well as the Pere Marquette.

The Manistee & Luther crossed the PM at grade here, controlled by an interlocking and derailing device. [MCR-1904]

Image info: A train pulls into the Pere Marquette East Lake depot. [CMUL]

Notes

Time Line

1886. May 26. A train loaded with railroad iron was being backed up the grade of the Manistee & Luther Narrow Gauge railroad near East Lake today. The load was too heavy for the engine. The hind car was on the top of the grade when the weight of the cars overcame the power of the engine. Thereupon the train started down the grade at a rapid rate, ever increasing, the futile efforts of the locomotive notwithstanding. As the train went rushing across the culvert at the foot of the grade the structure gave way and three cars fell through. A number of Polack workmen of the railroad company were riding on the cars. They fell headlong and were buried beneath the iron rails. It was some time before the men were taken out. It was discovered that nine men were injured and none killed. One man had his leg crushed up to the knee and another lost two fingers. The attending physician described the wounds received as a lot of miscellaneous contusions, but nothing serious. It was a miraculous escape. The wounded were placed on cots in Pierce's boarding house at East Lake, and every attention was paid to them. [DFP-1886-0527]

Industry

R.G. Peters Salt & Lumber Company.