Station: Lake Linden, MI

Lake Linden was on the northwest shore of Torch Lake in Houghton County. It was settled in 1851 and first called Torch Lake. In 1851 a stamp mill was built here. In 1885 it was renamed Lake Linden and it became a village the same year. [MPN]

Lake Linden was at the end of the DSS&A (H&C) branch from Hancock at milepost 9.4. The railroad had a station here. [DSSM]

Photo Info: Top, the depot at Lake Linden, now part of the Houghton County Historical Society complex. 2003. [Dale Berry]

Notes

The Houghton County Historical Museum is located here along with many railroad artifacts.

Time Line

1887. The Village of Lake Linden was totally destroyed by fire today. The fire was first discovered on the roof of Newman & Tretease's large double story about 12 o'clock and could easily have been extinguished if the village possessed any fire apparatus. Not having any, the fire burned unchecked. The Hancock, Houghton, Calumet and Red Jacket Fire Departments were telegraphed for, and in less than an  hour their four steamers were working on the fire. A local meat market and several churches were saved. Sixteen blocks of the town were burnt over. [DFP-1887-0521]

1904. The Railroad Commissioner approves a crossing of the Houghton County Street Railway with the Smelting Work's spur of the Mineral Range railroad near Lake Linden. [MCR-1904]

1918. The DSS&A had an agent and an operator/clerk at this location during the day. [TRT]

1933. The Copper Range crossed the H&TL railroad on its Lake Linden freight house spur. The 1933 COPR employee time table notes that the signal for this crossing was operated from the "C&H signal tower" and its normal position is "CLEAR" for the C&H railroad trains. COPR engineers shall give two short blasts of the whistle if clear, or one long blast of the whistle if the signal is not clear. [ETT-COPR-1933]

1933. The COPR had a telephone in the Lake Linden baggage room.

1966. From Soo Line Superintendent. C&H is presently mining 4,000 tons of rock per day. Within one year they expect this to increase to increase to 7,200 tons per day. This will increase outbound copper shipments and also, inbound products for their mining operations. At the present time, they have a large inbound movement of scrap copper which may or may not continue. Our shipments of pulpwood and logs out of Lake Linden have increased tremendously and from present indications will be a continuing business. As an example, pulpwood showed an increase from 1964 to 1964 at this station of 147 cars to 553. The Soo switches Lake Linder Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but he predicts five day a week shipping. [Soo memorandum]

1969. The Soo Line announced plans to close its depot at Lake Linden because of mine closings by the Calumet Division of Universal Oil Products company. Freight would still be moved to this point but all accounts would be handled by Houghton. The Lake Linden station was classified as "a million-dollar site" because its freight revenues totaled that much or more each year. [LSJ-1969-1010]