Boyne City, Gaylord and Alpena Railroad Company photograph collection, 1900s

Summary

Creator:

Boyne City, Gaylord and Alpena Railroad Company.

Extent:

1 envelope

Language:

English

Call Number:

0156 UBb.1s

Authors:

Finding aid created by Emily Mathay, March 2020.

Background

Scope and Content:

Photographs of locomotives, log-loading machinery at work, loggers in logging camp, and fire at Boyne City Lumber Co.

Biographical / Historical:

The Boyne City Southeastern Railroad was established by William Howard White in Boyne City, Michigan in 1893 for the purpose of logging the forests of northern Michigan. The initial line was laid in 1893, connecting the docks at Boyne City (on Lake Charlevoix) with the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. In November of 1905, the railroad was renamed the Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad, as tracks were laid towards Alpena, MI.

White's plan had been to market the cut over land to farmers immigrating from Europe; not only could White's railroad transport the farmers to the area, but it would ship farm products and goods to and from the region. However, the short growing season and poor soil of the cut over lands in Northern Michigan put a halt to those plans. Once the timber was gone, passenger and freight revenues were not enough to keep the railroad operating. In 1935, the railroad went bankrupt, and the line was sold for scrap. As a result, the W.H. Company couldn't pay taxes on their land, and had to forfeit their land ownership to the State of Michigan. Much of this land now makes up parcels of the Mackinaw State Forest.

Acquisition Information:

Donated by H. Mark Hildebrandt (donor no. 3466 )

Rules or Conventions:

gihc

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Fires -- Michigan -- Boyne City.
Loggers -- Michigan.
Lumber industry -- Michigan.
Railroad locomotives -- Michigan.
Railroads -- Michigan.

Formats:

Photographs.

Names:

Boyne City, Gaylord and Alpena Railroad Company.
Boyne City Lumber Company.