Negaunee Union Station

NEGAUNEE, MI
UNION STATION
West End and South Side of Negaunee Union Station
West End/South Side, Negaunee Union Station 2006

Negaunee is about 15 miles west of Marquette, which is on the Lake Superior side of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula's first railroad was the Iron Mountain Railroad. It was intended to carry iron from the mines in Negaunee to the port at Marquette, and was completed in 1857. Over the next 30 years, this railroad was merged into a number of different companies, finally becoming part of the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic in 1890. The DSS&A ran from Sault St. Marie west across the UP and northern Wisconsin, to Duluth Minnesota.

Negaunee's iron industry attracted another line, the Peninsula Railroad. It was incorporated in 1862 with a plan to build a railroad to Negaunee from the south. A further incentive was the government's land grant program, where railroads were given large blocks of land for building routes through undeveloped wilderness. This made it easier for the railroads to attract investors willing to pay for the construction. Work progressed rapidly and the line from Negaunee to Escanaba, on Lake Michigan, was completed in September 1864. That year over 31,000 tons of iron ore were shipped from Escanaba. And the railroad received 128,000 acres of land for completing the route.

The Peninsula Railroad was in reality a "construction company" set up by the Chicago & North Western Railroad. Once the construction was done, the Peninsula Railroad was merged into the Chicago & North Western. A rail connection to the rest of the Chicago & North Western system had to wait until 1872, when a line north of Green Bay, through Marinette, was completed into Escanaba.

So by the mid-1870's Negaunee had two railroads with through routes. Both offered passenger service, not only demanded by the public, but also an important source of income for the railroads.

At first each railroad had its own depot. By sometime around 1900, there was a Union Depot, serving both the CNW and the DSS&A. It stood a half block south of Iron St. on the east side of Gold Street (map). Both railroads built new tracks running past the depot. This was a big improvement to the passenger service in Negaunee, but it must have been a very crude structure.
Newspaper accounts from 1909 document the efforts of the city council and mayor to get a new depot built. The main complaint seemed to be with bathroom facilities. Apparently there was only one, to serve both men and women, and it was often kept locked-up. City and State Health officials were called in to investigate. For some time the railroads each claimed that a new depot was the other's responsibility. Newspapers proclaimed "No More Dillydallying, Ramshackle Union Station Must GO ! Finally a member of the State Railroad Commission visited Negaunee for a personal inspection. Soon after he returned to Lansing, an official order for a new depot was issued on April 13, 1910.
The "Official Order" of the State Railroad Commission must have carried a lot of weight. Work started right away on tracks and signal lines while architectural plans for the new depot were prepared. In July 1910, work was underway on the foundations of the new depot, and it opened on Christmas Day, 1910!
The new Union Station was "state of the art" for 1910, and sized to meet the needs of Negaunee. It was fireproof, built mostly of concrete and brick, It had steam heat and electric lights. The main waiting room seated 42 people. A separate waiting room for women and children, in the west end of the building, seated 22, and had its own bathroom. Both waiting rooms had mahogany woodwork and Italian marble floor tiles. There were two separate agent's offices, one each for the DSS&A and the CNW. The agent offices were on the south side of the building. Tracks ran along both sides of the station. On the east end of the building were two rooms for express shipments, by Western Express and American Express.

East end, Negaunee Union Station
South Side/Express Room End, 2006.

Negaunee had good passenger service well into the 1950's. The 1956 Chicago And North Western timetable shows 4 trains a day calling at Negaunee. The "Peninsula 400" was a streamliner, running the 389 miles from Chicago to Negaunee in about 8 1/2 hours. South of Green Bay it included parlor, lounge and dining cars. The "Iron and Copper Country Express" took about 12 1/2 hours to cover the same route, but carried sleeping cars both ways.
Negaunee Union Station served its intended purpose for over 40 years. But with better roads and cars, fewer people used the passenger trains. Passenger trains on the DSS&A ended in 1958. On the CNW, they lasted until 1966. After that the depot was sold to private owners. It changed hands several times, but never was redeveloped.
At one time the Negaunee Union Station was owned by the VFW, whose building is just north of the depot. The bought the depot with the intention of making a parking lot for their club. Only thing stopping them was that they did not have funds to pay for the demolition. The Italina Mable floor tiles very nearly led to the destruction of the depot. An individual made a deal with the VFW, where he was going to remove the tiles and some woodwork, and tear down what was left. The tiles were removed, as was the woodwork from the woman's waiting room. But the individual did NOT tear down the building.
In 2001, Jim Kantola bought Negaunee Union Station with a plan to redevelop the building. By then, it had sat vacant for about 40 years. The fact that it was still standing says a lot about the durability of its cement and brick construction. Jim rebuilt the chimney and coupola and replaced the roof. The old double-hung windows were rebuilt. Most of the nine doors were sealed by new door-like covers built over the badly weathered exteriors. The two working doors are vintage replacements. The interior got all new plumbing and wiring, and a new heating system. The old woodwork was stripped and refinished. Interior walls were patched and repainted.
In 2006, Negaunee Union Station reopened as a rental facility, with overnight guest rooms and other large rooms for meetings or parties.

Agent's Offices, Now a Kitchen
Dual Agent's Offices are now a kitchen.

The main waiting room now has large tables seation about 40 people. The agent's offices were turned into a large kitchen, complete with sink, stove, refrigerator, and lots of counter space. The woman's waiting room has been converted to a guest room, with a private bathroom.

Woman's Waiting Room, Now a Bedroom.

One of the Former Baggage/Express Rooms.

One of the express rooms now has some nice leather couches and fold-down beds. The other express room has a sauna and a third bathroom.
Besides all the room inside, the large roof overhangs make hundreds of feet of porch space.
For railfans or for those interested in old depots, Negaunee Union Station has a lot to offer. Besides the building itself, there are several old photos showing the depot in use by the railroads, a very large map showing the tracks in downtown Negaunee, and two poster-size collections of photos and railroad advertising material. But more than that, just staying in the depot is FUN.
For more information see the Negaunee Union Station website, or to make reservations, phone (906) 475-7939.

Old postcard view of Negaunee Depot

Michigan Passenger Stations Home Page

September 2006
Louis Van Winkle
E-mail questions or comments to louisvw@mc.net