The old Ann Arbor Depot in Mt. Pleasant has survived fires, verbal abuse and local scorn to remain the last railroad building in Mt. Pleasant. The station was built by the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan Railroad, later known simply as the Ann Arbor Railroad. No fancy ornate structure of brick and marble, it just was a plain generic depot. The structure is indicative of a railroad that struggled financially through much of its existence.

No matter if it was in Mesick, Marion, McBain or Mt. Pleasant, the old depots had the same look. Spindled knee braces were on the overhangs, a characteristic Ann Arbor trademark. Beyond this some arts and crafts work could be found on the gable ends. The typical Ann Arbor railroad station was a rectangular box which varied in size to meet the local need. The Mt. Pleasant example is approximately 22 feet wide and 75 feet long with a 25 foot addition attached to the south end. The addition, used as an express office, made the building 100 feet long for most of its existence.

Here in Mt. Pleasant there was no fancy waiting room like the depots in Cadillac, Durand or Howell. If you wanted to see the train coming you had to go outside. The only view of the train from the waiting room was a single window to the west where one could see the train as it passed the station door just 25 feet away.

Although its physical appearances were simple, it was the depot for the com­munity and represents an important part of Mt. Pleasant history. Like the depot in any town it was the site of uncountable meetings and partings, many marking mileposts in the lives of individuals. Today we come and go from our home by car without the focus on events the old depot, out of necessity, provided.

That the depot was often the center of Mt. Pleasant happenings is illustrated in the following examples.

Probably the first large gathering at the depot occurred on May 22, 1895, the day when the State legislature voted to assume Central Michigan Normal as a state institution. After telegraphing the news ahead, a delegation of officials returned from Lansing on the evening train. In author John Cumming's "First Hundred Years," he states the event as follows:

"When the Toledo & Ann Arbor train from the south pulled into the station on Broadway that evening there were at least 2,500 people assembled there. The band played, fireworks boomed, and a huge bonfire shot its flames skyward."

Patriotic events drew large crowds to the station. Many hundreds assembled to see the boys off for training in the Spanish American War and later in World War I. A unique happening of April 26, 1898, illustrates how the depot was a centerpiece of community activity during those years.

In the Spanish American War the Michigan National Guard was called up for service, including units from the Upper Peninsula. Because the Ann Arbor railroad car ferries at the time served as connectors at Gladstone and Menominee, the troops arrived by boat at Frankfort. Word of the special troop train of eight coaches going south on the Ann Arbor spread through the town. Despite the fact that the train was to arrive at 11 p.m. people started coming down Broadway several hours earlier. The Enterprise reported the depot was thronged with pedestrians and wheelmen. Eventually 1,000 people were at the station and on the platform. They all waved and cheered the boys on their way as the train slowed while passing through town.

Twenty years later during World War I the unique War Relic Train came to Mt. Pleasant. Dubbed the "Train from France" it arrived at the Ann Arbor depot on October 16, 1918. The train featured three flat cars loaded with captured cannon, German airplanes, mortars, shells, and a box car with smaller trophies. The idea was to promote Liberty Bonds to finance the war effort. The papers reported that a "veritable mob" was at the station to view the relics and hear the comments of the recently returning veterans who accompanied the exhibit.

After World War I the United States prospered in the era of the nineteen twenties. In the thirties the country's fortunes took a down turn. Hucksterism was at its best at the depot in the depths of the depression on Friday afternoon, March 24, 1933. The Mt. Pleasant merchants had made special arrangements with the Ann Arbor Railroad to use the long platform in front of the station.

Citizens lined up to watch the effigy of "General D. Pression" as he was removed from his horse drawn hearse and cast off the Broadway Bridge into the "raging Chippewa River to be devoured by the Sharks." Scores of persons witnessed the ceremonies and set up a tremendous roar of cheers as the High School Band played "Happy Days Are Here Again." It was a good try but the great depression of the thirties was not that easily dismissed.

The nineteen-forties arrived along with World War II. Groups of inductees into the services left by train resulting in periodic crowds at the station. On Monday, June 9, 1941, fifty-three young men were given a flag-waving farewell by the community. A crowd of 2,000 gathered in the center of town for the send off. Moving to the Ann Arbor Depot the men rode on the city's two fire trucks. The High School Band played selections on the platform until departure time when a large cheer arose as the engine steamed out from the depot. With war time and gasoline rationing the use of passenger trains increased temporarily. Ridership returned to levels of the late twenties during the war years of 1941 to 1946 before plunging to new lows.

The last large gathering occurred at the station on June 22, 1943. The Detroit Riots were in full swing and Governor Kelly called out the Michigan State Troops.

'"Company B lined up in front of the Commercial Block in downtown Mt. Pleasant. Eighty strong they marched down Broadway to the depot where special cars awaited them. Several hundred Mt. Pleasant residents were at the station to see them off for their week-long duty in Detroit.

In the first decade or so of the twentieth century, railroad ridership grew across the country. The Ann Arbor in Mt. Pleasant was no exception. The location of Central Michigan Normal in the community alone generated much travel. A glance at the old Normal Yearbooks of this period testifies to this. Hardly a one is without a picture of the Mt. Pleasant Depot as part of the page on "Places in Mt. Pleasant." At times of enrollment traffic was heavy. At vacation periods, lines of people waited at the ticket window to make their purchase.

Besides general travel, excursions and specials were advertised in the papers. One November 1915 ad offered an excursion leaving at 6:45 a.m. to Ann Arbor to watch the University of Michigan vs. Cornell football game - "The train leaves adjacent the stadium to 'return to Mt. Pleasant immediately after the game."

Excursions to Detroit coupled with Tiger games were offered from time to time during the summer. They generally left Mt. Pleasant between one and two in the morning arriving in Detroit at eight. Returning after supper this long day excursion was advertised even as late as 1939 at a cost of $1.75 per person round trip.

Another excursion the writer found gives some idea of the hustle and commotion at the depot; Isabella County Enterprise, August, 3, 1906

"And shortly after five 0' clock the Ann Arbor ticket office was besieged by an expectant, jolly crowd of men, women and children intent on becoming a factor in the first annual Sunday school excursion to Frankfort. A train of seven coaches was filled almost as soon as it stopped opposite the depot and a hundred or more remained on the platform waiting for the next section which could be seen further down the tracks.

The Mt. Pleasant ticket agent sold 585 tickets that day. At the time the giant 500 ft. long Royal Frontanac Hotel owned by the railroad in Frankfort was the show place of northern Michigan.

- - -An ad used around the time of 1910- - -

Holiday specials for the 4th of July made the depot a busy location as bands, ball teams and spectators crowded the platforms. Island Park, just a block away, was often the focus point of celebration. On July 4th, 1910, fifteen automobiles "brilliantly trimmed drove the principal streets of the city." Converging at the depot they met the train carrying Mt. Pleasant native son Congressman EH. Dodds. A procession was formed, eventually joining festivities at the park. In 1910 not one street in Mt. Pleas­ant was paved and fifteen autos in one place was a unique event.

A year later in 1911, the depots were jammed as several thousand Civil War veterans converged on Mt. Pleasant. The U.S. Army had provided 200 tents which were set up at Island Park for an encampment.

Celebration in one case ended in tragedy. Just south of the depot on June 5, 1915 occurred what the Isabella County Enterprise at the time called "one of the most distressing accidents that ever occurred in Isabella County." Returning from an 8th grade class day excursion at Island Park, Bessie and Evelyn Block lost their lives when their horse drawn wagon was hit by a 31-ton motor car on the Ann Arbor at the Broadway crossing. Five others on the wagon, age 15 and below, survived. A Coroners Jury convened and reached a verdict of "no one's fault." From a reading of the jury report confusion existed from the mix of two railroad motor cars, parked automobiles, buildings and traffic. This, along with a farm team of horses and a 15-year-old driver in a new situation combined to render the judgment of "accidental death."

So times of sorrow as well as times of celebration were part of the scene at the depot. Perhaps no more tragic setting could be found then the one on the morning of July 21, 1931. The McClanahan Struble, No 1 oil well fire the past Sunday had killed ten persons east of Mt. Pleasant. Now on Tuesday, Mrs. Marion Fugate carrying a baby with two small children trailing in bewilderment boarded the train. She was accompanying the bodies of her husband and sister-in-law who were killed in the catastrophe. The Times News said "she had her head up but her heart was broken." Now as she started the journey back to Kentucky she bade farewell to the group of townspeople assembled at the depot. Her parting words, "Thank you so much - Thank all the people who helped me."

Minor altercations probably happened on occasions at the depot. Seldom did they make the papers. One early exception involved "hobos" or "tramps" in an incident on December 30, 1895. In the words of the Northwestern Tribune, "they were a quarrelsome lot and very tough looking." Seven individuals showed up at the depot. Baggage-man Ratliff soon realized they were trying to pick a fight. After a call for help the Constable, several Deputy Sheriffs along with railroad employees got in a scuffle with the transients. The outcome was three tramps were "kicked out of town" and four taken to jail. After sentencing to five days in the facility they were told they would be sentenced to a year in Ionia if they appeared again. The paper indicated more than likely the motive in starting the fracas was to get a warm place in jail with something to eat.

The depot was the scene of a robbery just before midnight on August 25, 1927.

The haul was $82.05 taken from the night operator Van Rigging. With a handkerchief over his face and a cap pulled down on his head the robber sneaked through the empty waiting room to the ticket office. Bursting in he confronted the operator with a gun and ordered him to turn over the money. An accomplice was nearby as Rigging heard the robber say "come on Dutch" outside the station door. Railroad detectives went to work on the case but it is unknown if the robbers were ever apprehended.

As mentioned at the outset the Ann Arbor depot was never a source of great community pride. The Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Michigan reached Mt. Pleasant, building its way north, in 1886. The first regular passenger train service to the south started on June 28, 1886. That the original depot building was not a point of community splendor was evidenced when it caught fire on April 6, 1893. The Enterprise reported the fire, ignited by a lightning strike, had caused extensive damage to the structure. It added the comment - "Hope is that the company will erect a building that will add attractiveness to its surrounding. It would be a fine improvement and can be done without much additional expense." Apparently out of the ashes the new depot was rebuilt but with unknown changes. Suffice it to say the topic did not surface again in the local paper.

The next push for a new depot came in July 1903. The Pere Marquette Depot on north Main was so inadequate it was announced it would be replace

Mayor H. Edward Duel in a front page story proposed a Union Depot for Mt. Pleasant to provide a better "door step" to the community. The Union depot idea never took hold. The Pere Marquette finished a new facility in early 1906 and the community remained with two depots.

On June 8, 1908, another fire struck the Ann Arbor station. This time a spark from the smoke stack on a passing local engine landed on the roof. Quick response by the fire department resulted in the structure being saved with extensive water damage. Restoring the roof required 2,000 new shingles.

Finally on Monday, December 3, 1922, a defective chimney caused a blaze at 3 a.m. in the morning. George Gish, night man at the depot, smelled smoke and on investigation found the building was on fire near the baggage room. He tried to call "central" to alert the firemen but the fire had severed the phone wires. George ran all the way uptown to turn in the alarm. During this period the fire gained good headway. By the time the firemen squelched the blaze thousands of dollars of damage had been done. The express agency loss was put at near $500.00. The railroad lost some baggage and the post office lost some 3rd class mail. Nevertheless, the building was saved from complete destruction.

The next day talk of a possible new depot in the wake of the early morning fire circulated through the town. The talk resulted in the Chamber of Commerce petitioning the Ann Arbor Railroad for a new structure. H.E. Chatterton, president of the Chamber of Commerce, in his communication pointed out that a station worthy of the city should be constructed. Further, he stated that Mt. Pleasant furnishes the second largest passenger traffic to the Ann Arbor of all its Michigan cities.

By Friday the Ann Arbor replied that passenger revenue was decreasing and other costs were up. General Manager Bloomeyer of the railroad, held out no hope for a new station which he estimated would cost up to $25,000 to construct. Once again repairs were made to the building. The Mt. Pleasant Times commented that "The depot has been far from adequate and certainly not a very good advertisement for the city."

Rail traffic on the Ann Arbor peaked in 1913 when the line carried a little over 1 million passengers. By the year 1922 it was near Y2 million so the " hey day" of passenger rail traffic was over. Roads continued to improve as did the vehicles which used them. By the late forties the number of passengers on the Ann Arbor line would drop to 50,000 per year. It was during these last few years that I was fortunate enough to observe the end of the passenger train era in Mt. Pleasant.

As a young teenager I soon acquired a bicycle and was "about town" where the depot was a favorite spot. The south bound passenger train arrived at about 11 :30 a.m., while the northbound was about 2:30 p.m. Getting off the bike at the depot the first thing to do was to check the arrival board. Opening the door you were often greeted by the chatter of the telegraph in the office. The smell of tobacco smoke was ever present in the somewhat dimly lit room. A check on Trains number 51 or 52, as they were called, would reveal the words "On Time" or a late arrival time chalked in after the number.

The activity of watching a passenger train come into the depot was always fascinating. The morning train coming from the north pulled up to the water tower north of the depot. The passenger engines, equipped with large drivers, were 4-4-2 Atlantics near forty-years-old. After filling the tender the three car train consisting of a baggage, mail and passenger car moved three hundred feet ahead to the station.

At this point your attention was divided. You could watch the fireman tend the grates, oil around the crank and pin and generally check out the engine. Sometimes I would watch people coming and going, and in the latter 40's they were generally few in number. The uniformed conductor or brakeman first set a small step on the cement platform and went about the business of greeting and helping people on and off the coach.

Usually the final step was waiting for the transfer of mail and parcel post to be completed. Mustached Chris Larson, dressed in western attire, had the contract to move the mail to and from the post office. A line of station carts formed the nucleus for shifting between train and truck. The mail truck had a reserved spot

just off Broadway at the south end of the depot. It was often next to the green Railway Express Agency truck. The agency received shipments and occupied the south end of the depot. Years later the outline of the red diamond symbol was still faintly visible on the south side of the building.

Now the mail transfer was complete and the station carts were pulled away. The crossing bell clanged continuously during the entire sequence of events. The crossbuck and bell were present long before flashing lights were installed. Next the engine bell started ringing and the engineer leaned out the cab window waiting for the conductor's signal. The signal was given and the engineer gave a long blast on the whistle and started slowly across Broadway Street. Quickly picking up speed the sound of escap­ing steam echoed off nearby buildings with increasing tempo as the train pulled out of sight around the curve.

Soon a worker emerged out of the north door of the depot, picked up his shovel and headed for the tracks to remove the hot clinkers from the charred ties. As I got on my bike to leave, a low clunk would be heard as the station agent moved the semaphore on the north end of the depot. It wasn't long and this sequence was a memory for everyone as the final passenger train was in 1950. Without fanfare on Wednesday, July 19, 1950, the last scheduled passenger train arrived 20 minutes late. Six people stood in the rain to watch Train 51, northbound, leave the depot. The last ticket was sold to John Akin, eleven-years old, who was riding home to Clare after a music lesson. The Times News said the train departed to the north with a "heavy pull on the whistle." Sixty-four years of passenger service was over.

After the passenger era the depot was in declining use as an area freight agent's office until the mid-70's. Local rail business steadily disappeared with closing of the Borden's Condensary, Total Refinery, Ferro Manufacturing, several lumber yards, and finally all milling operations. Today, only several sidings exist in the community for occasional use. The state of Michigan owns the railroad, having acquired it in March of 1977. It is the only rail link left to Cadillac, Traverse City and Petoskey as well as Mt. Pleasant.

The depot got one last coat of paint and a new roof shortly before the line went bankrupt. The Art Train was coming to town and the building was in severe neglect so a crew was brought in to improve the appearance. As it turned out the train used the connector track to the Pere Marquette depot where parking was more adequate for the patrons.

So the old building has survived a great deal but was in danger of removal in recent years. Fortunately in 1995, partners Jim Holton and Rick Ervin saw a potential here to create a brewing company and steak house around a theme. The theme is today's "Mountain Town Station."

Now seventy-four years after H.E. Chatterton and the Mt. Pleasant Chamber of Commerce called for a new depot befitting the city, we have such a structure. Ironically, no scheduled passenger train passes this way for the present. The "Mountain Town Station" represents a new function with a link to the past.

In a very real sense of the word the old Ann Arbor Depot still survives. The floor, walls and rafters, although covered with new materials, are the original in the center portion of the station. The northern telegraph office projection towards the track is the original; the south two are copies. The overhang, roof pitch, and knee braces under the eaves all reflect the old Ann Arbor Railroad heritage.

Mt. Pleasant's depot never looked this good. With quality food, hand-crafted beers, air-conditioned, comfortable surroundings and attentive service, it is an environment far different from the depot days. But patrons can enjoy some nostalgia. Think of hearing the train whistle, the click of the telegraphs and the ever present smell of coal smoke at the old station. One thing more to remember from the old days, if you were hungry you had to bring a sack lunch.

(Researched by the Hud Keenan at the Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University.

For “Through the years at Mt. Pleasant Historic Ann Arbor Depot by Hud Keenan 1997