MIDDLEVILLE, MI
Middleville, MI Depot, May 1998
| The railroad through Middleville was originally built
by Grand River Valley Railroad Company and ran from Jackson to Grand Rapids.
In 1870 the GRVR was leased in perpetuity to the Michigan Central Railroad.
A few years later, Commodore Vanderbilt, owner of the New York Central Railroad,
bought enough stock to gain control of the Michigan Central . So from 1876
on, the Michigan Central was part of the New York Central
"empire".
At one time, the railroad through Middleville was a very
busy passenger route. The 1902 MC
timetable shows six daily passenger trains, and two mixed trains through
Middleville. Most trains carried parlor cars and sleepers running through
to Detroit. One pair of trains, the GR-NY Specials carried sleepers running
through to New York City.
Passenger service ended in 1959. The line was abandoned
by NYC successor PennCentral and operated briefly by the Kent, Barry and
Eaton Connecting RR, with a state subsidy. State money ran out and the rails
were removed in the 1980's. The right-of-way has since become the Paul Henry
Trail.
The building itself was probably built in the 1920's. It
is quite similar to a station in nearby Hastings, which was built in 1922.
In the late 1990's the Middleville depot was privately owned and sat vacant,
but in good condition. |
Street Side, May 1998
| In early 2002, Thornapple Township announced plans to
acquire the depot and some adjoining property, tear down the depot and build
a fire station on the site. A Save the Depot committee, led by Sue Rietman,
was working toward making the depot into a museum of local
history.
A big break came when the Chief of Thornapple Township Emergency
Services, Mark Marentette, joined the cause. He came up with an alternate
plan for the new Emergency Services station that allowed for the depot to
remain in place, and sold the plan to the township. The depot was to be saved,
and the new building was to match the depot architecturally and athestically.
The Depot and the Emergency Services station site would be tied together
through restoration of the original brick passenger platform at the Depot
and a pocket park. All this depended on voter approval of a millage proposal.
It passed in Feb. 2003, and construction started later that year. |
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