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Dexter, Michigan, collector of materials relating to the history of railroading in Michigan. Correspondence, subject files, printed matter and photographs; contain material concerning the Ann Arbor Railroad, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the Manistee and Northeastern Railway Company, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Pere Marquette Railroad, and Ephraim Shay.

The Stoner collection contains about 3,600 photographs and negatives collected by Stoner, relating primarily to Michigan railroads. The collection also contains related manuscript materials.

Stoner's major collecting interests were in the Ann Arbor, Grand Trunk Western, and Pere Marquette Railroads and their predecessors, and in logging railroads, especially Ephraim Shay's railroad and others using Shay locomotives. Along with these lines, the collection contains photos of dozens of other railroads, not all in Michigan.

The photographs most commonly depict locomotives, often with their crews posed beside. Other common subjects are railroad stations (exteriors only), train wrecks, trains in motion, logging operations, carferries, railroad bridges, the Detroit-Windsor railroad tunnel, and street railroads.

Dozens of Michigan cities and towns and a number of places in other states are represented in the collection. Places depicted most often in the photos include Ann Arbor, Cadillac, Detroit, Durand, Frankfort, Harbor Springs, and Howell, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario.

The collection is organized into seven series: Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, Unclassified negatives, Papers, Classified negatives, and Duplicate material.

Appended to this finding aid are two indexes, one for railroads and company names, the other for subjects. The indexes contain references to all items in the Classified photos, Unclassified photos, Albums, and Unclassified negatives series.

The index to railroads and company names indexes logging and industrial companies that operated railroads, as well as railroad lines themselves. It does not index locomotive manufacturers, nor does it index the names of railroad museums where some of the photos were taken.

The index to subjects indexes place names and topical subjects. It does not index the term "locomotives" since the majority of the photos in the collection would be indexed under that heading. Place names are indexed if the photo includes a view of some part of the place or of some event at the place. Close-up views of locomotives that do not show any background are not indexed by place, even if the description of the photo identifies where it was taken.

Soldier with the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. War-related documents, including bills, orders and passes, and pension applications; also financial materials, 1901-1902, relating to his involvement in the Ann Arbor Gun Club; and photographs.

The William D. Corson collection is primarily an accumulation of the momentos of a number of the men of the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry. Materials include newspaper clippings concerning the Michigan 31st both in Chattanooga and in Cuba, bills of purchases by the commissary in Cuba (many of these for cigars), orders and passes issued through the office of Captain Ross Granger, souvenirs, and photographs.

The collection also contains insurance policies, including those from the period of Corson's duty during the Spanish-American War and pension applications for veterans of the war. These applications were solicited by law firms and seem to represent a thriving local industry.

The rest of the collection contains material collected after the Spanish-American War when Corson was a saloon proprietor. Included are photographs of the saloon taken around 1910. Corson was also the secretary and treasurer of the Ann Arbor Gun Club and kept shooting scores, bills, receipts and an account book of the club. An oversized group portrait shows Corson and other members of the club.

In addition, the collection includes photographs of family and friends, Ann Arbor scenes, a group portrait of the veterans of the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry, and photos of military activities, while training in the United States and while stationed in Cuba. A number of advertising cards for several local Ann Arbor businesses are included and probably date prior to 1910.