JACKSON, MI – If you have a lively imagination as you travel the Falling Waters Trail, you may hear a locomotive whistle in the distance.
It’s the sound of history.
Before hikers and bikers began using the paved 10.5-mile trail, it was the path for locomotives that plied the old Air Line tracks between Jackson and Chicago.
The old rail line never became quite what early backers envisioned. But its history is marked by railroad financiers, small-town depots, village bond votes, court rulings, livestock transits, a cement company and twin lakes – or is it just one?
The Michigan Air Line Railroad beginnings are rooted in the post-Civil War era expansion of rail lines across America. Only part of the line was built, and it was split between the Michigan Central Railroad and the Grand Trunk Railway.
From Jackson’s perspective, the part of the Air Line that’s of interest is that which was completed in February 1871, between Jackson and Niles.
For decades, the Air Line Railroad from Jackson west was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad, which was part of the New York Central Railroad, which also acquired the Canada Southern Railway. After a full merger, the Air Line ceased to exist as an independent company in 1916.
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The portion of the rail lines between Niles and Three Rivers was abandoned in 1937 by the New York Central Railroad. Conrail, which later became owners of the remaining lines, abandoned them in 1982.
In 1986, Jackson Mayor Dick Strunk proposed acquiring some of the abandoned Air Line right-of-way for a southwest connector route. The idea was to reduce motorized traffic pressures along Fourth Street and other area streets.
The proposal was supported by many, and in 1991 the city reached an agreement with Conrail to purchase about three miles of the old Air Line right-of-way for $159,000. However, traffic studies undermined the city’s case for the new route. It never was developed.
About that same time, local interest was building for a rails-to-trails, linear park project between Jackson and Concord. The old Air Line right-of-way was acquired, piece by piece, during the next 15 years.
Finally, on May 9, 2008, state and local officials dedicated the Falling Waters Trail. The city of Jackson developed its own extension of the trail, which follows the old Air Line route into the downtown vicinity.
For roughly a century, though, the Air Line Railroad was a significant part of the regional rail transit system. Some of that history has been forgotten, but Bev Cunningham of Spring Arbor has kept some of it alive in a series of signs along the trail. Here are highlights of some of them:
Snyder Station – This stop along the rail line predates the completed Air Line Railroad by four years. It was located at Moscow Road and became a busy rural shipping point with stockyards and four passenger trains and up to 40 freight trains passing through every 24 hours.
Lime Lake – Lime Lake did not exist when locomotives first began running on the Air Line. Instead, Bateman Lake, a 4-acre pond off Carter Road, originally was there. Seminary students from nearby Spring Arbor would cut ice blocks from the small lake during the winter. Lime Lake only appeared with dredging that began with the advent of the 20th century and it was bisected by the rails.
Springbrook River – When the earliest settlers arrived at Spring Arbor, they found this tributary in the Lime Lake area. Construction of the Air Line Railroad in 1872 cut off the river from its water source. Remains of it may be seen in a marshy area of lily pads.
Portland Cement Co. – Douglass Houghton, Michigan Territory geologist of the early 1800s, described the area as “rolling, filled with marshes, lakes and cat-holes” and “filled with numerous springs of peculiar character that seem to contain minerals and extensive beds of marl.” It was the marl that attracted the Portland Cement Co. to the area. From 1900-29, the company operated two large steam dredges brought in by the rail line. During those years, there was a train depot at Lime Lake. Eventually, the marl was depleted, and the company moved elsewhere. The remnants of docks and equipment are visible to trail visitors in the bottom of crystal clear south Lime Lake.
On Saturday, Sept. 10, 1870, the opening of the Air Line Railroad was celebrated with a grand excursion over the section between Jackson and Homer. The Sept. 12 Jackson Daily Citizen reported that “quite a large party, consisting mostly of those directly interested in the road, went out from Jackson, and all along the road, as far as Concord, additions were made to the party.” At Homer, about 5,000 people greeted the train and its passengers. There were speeches. Litchfield’s brass band played. The Homer Glee Club sang. The ladies of Homer fed thousands of visitors.
All of the cities or villages along the route, plus the counties, were investing in the proposed rail line in 1869-71 as it promised progress. In early March 1869, the Daily Citizen reported from Concord “a strong movement on foot there to aid in the immediate completion of the Michigan Air Line Railroad through that town.” A “large and enthusiastic” meeting had been held and a committee of local men was appointed to aid the railroad in “securing the right of way and the required subscription to carry the road through the town.” When the vote took place in early May, a $15,000 contribution was approved – 252 in favor and 66 against. Supporters were so pleased they staged a 120-gun salute that evening.