Station: Kalkaska, MI

Kalkaska was settled about 1872 with the arrival of a sawmill. It is the county seat of Kalkaska County and became a village in 1887.

The town is located on the Grand Rapids & Indiana railroad and was also served for a time by a Pere Marquette branch line which crossed the GR&I here.

Photo Info: Top, The GR&I depot in Kalkaska. 2nd photo, another photo before 1920. 3rd photo, the GR&I "flyer" at Kalamazoo. [Top 3, Alan Loftis collection]. 4th photo, the depot in 2003. [Kevin Toombs]. 5th photo, an earlier depot in Kalkaska. This may have been the Pere Marquette depot, or an earlier version of the GR&I depot. This needs more research. [CMUL]. 6th phpto is the PM depot at Kalkaska. [CMUL]. 7th and 8th  photos, Michigan Northern 1554 plows out the Omoco Spur with a Jordan spreader, south of Kalkaska in 1981. [Neil Plagens]; 9th map, a drawing of the Kalkaska interlocked crossing  of the GR&I and the Pere Marquette branch line which crossed here. From 1910. Drawn from the interlocker files at the State of Michigan Archives. [Dale Berry]

Notes

Time Line

1874. The GR&I is built through Kalkaska. [MRL]

1884. Kalkaska is served by two trains each each direction daily on the GR&I. [NTR-1880-1113]

1903. This was an interlocked crossing of the GR&I and PM. [MCR-1904]

1909. The interlocking tower at Kalkaska was installed in 1909 and was an 18-lever plant built by the GR&I at the crossing of the Pere Marquette. [TSE-4/1909]

1984. February. The State of Michigan purchases the PRR, former GR&I. [MRL]