Station: Manistique, MI

Manistique was founded about 1871 in south central Schoolcraft County. It was also known for a time as Monistique and also Epsport, but changed to Manistique in 1879. The town is the county seat of Schoolcraft County and was incorporated as a village in 1885 and a city in 1901. [MPN] Manistique is an Indian name meaning "red water".

Manistique was a significant station on the Soo Line railroad between Gladstone and Sault Ste. Marie. The Manistique & Lake Superior railroad crossed the Soo Line here and interchanged cars, including ferry traffic to the MLS dock from the Traverse City area.

Photo Info: Top, a 1909 photo postcard of a three-car Soo Line passenger train heading eastbound towards Sault Ste. Marie. 2nd photo, a newer Soo Line depot photographed in 1980. [Dave Fulkerth collection], 3rd photo, the depot in 2003. [Dale Berry]. 4th photo, the former Manistique & Lake Superior station in Manistique, now used as a business office. [Dave Fulkerth]

Notes

The M&LS had a turntable in Manistique, which was removed when the railroad was abandoned and pulled up.

The Soo Line depot was built at Wolf and Mackinac Streets about 1920. [UPM]

Manistique River Bridge. The Soo Line crossed the Manistique Rover on a seven-span steel girder bridge, 10' wide and 280' long, resting on finished ashlar piers and abutments. It was designed by C. F. Lowete and constructed in 1899 at a cost of $50,000 by the Gillette-Herzog Manufacturing Company. The chief engineer of the railroad at the time was Thomas Greene. The nameplate proudly proclaims "2-160 Ton Loco's" which is presumably the weight capacity of the bridge at the time. [UPM]

Limestone was quarried by the White Marble Lime Company here.

Time Line

1863. The Chicago Lumbering Co. arrives in town. The firm operates a planing mill and three large lumber mills, and in 1893 operation of a charcoal iron furnace. They employee 1,200 people at their peak. [EDP-1956-0512]

1893. The iron smelter turns out 100 tons of iron daily, as well as chemicals which were made from wood that was charred for fueling the iron smelters.

1897. The Manistique & Northwestern railroad is built from the wharf at Manistique to Shingleton via Steuben, 34 miles. It becomes the M&LS in 1909. [MRL]

1912. L. Yalomstein and W.S. Crowe organize the Consolidated Lumber Co., and purchase the properties of the Chicago Lumbering Co. [EDP-1956-0512]

1917. The MStP&SSM had operators here around the clock.. [TRT]

1920. The Michigan Public Utilities Commission orders the MStP&SSM railway to immediately construct or or remodel the freight depot here. They were also ordered to submit plans for approval. [MPUC-1920]

1936. November. Peter Udell of Manistique was arrested yesterday by George D. Peoples, special agent of the Soo Line railroad and State Trooper Nels Friberg on a charge of stealing track ties from a side track and cutting the ties up for wood. He pleased guilty and was sentenced to pay a $5 fine, $5 costs or serve 10 days in jail. He is making arrangements to pay the fine. [EDP-1936-1103]

1956. March. The Soo Line will discontinue its sleeper service on the morning and evening trains, Nos. 7 and 8, Paul Noe, station agent at Manistique reports. In October, the daily sleeper service was reduced to three time weekly on runs to Minneapolis and Chicago. The change will take effect April 1. [EDP-1956-0309]

1968. The M&LS is abandoned. [MRL]

1977. A boxcar owned by the Soo Line railroad sustained extensive damage after the shredded paper in it caught fire. The fire department was called to Manistique Pulp and Paper at 3 a.m. for the fire. The city crew worked for an hour and one half before the mill's crew took over. The fire was likely caused by spontaneous combustion. [EDP-1977-0610]

Industry

• Chicago Lumbering Co. - 1866-1912
• Consolidated Lumber Co. - 1912-xxxx
• Inland Lime and Stone Co. - xxxx-1956-xxxx
• Pulp & Paper Mill - xxxx-1956-xxxx
• Schoolcraft Lumber Co. - xxxx-1956-xxxx
• Tool and Manufacturing Co., - xxxx-1956-xxxx
• White Marble Lime Company