Mason was settled about 1836 as Mason Center nine miles south of downtown Lansing on the Michigan Central's Saginaw Branch. A sawmill was located here. It became the county seat of Ingham County in 1840. Mason became a village in 1865 and a city in 1875. [MPN]
Photo info: Top, A 1908 photo of the Michigan Central Mason depot with No. 8203 a 4-6-0 Schenectady-built Class F-81a pulling a freight train through town. Note the crossing watchman in the foreground of the photo. The 8203 was built in November, 1889 and scrapped by the MC in April, 1922. [Mark Worrall collection]. 2nd photo, the NYC depot at Mason in 1983. [Charlie Whipp]. 3rd photo, an older photograph. [Alan Loftis collection]. 4th photo, the former depot in 2003, now used as a restaurant. [Alan Loftis]. 5th photo, a postcard view of the Mason Interurban Depot, date not known.
1866. The editor of the Ann Arbor Courier visits Lansing and tells the story. At 2:00 pm were moving over this new road at a fair speed, arriving at Mason, its present temporary terminal. The country, for the most part, through which this road passes is of a very pleasant character and is largely improved with fine farms, while the unimproved is attracting attention who are seeking new farm lands.
From Mason, we were sent forward in one of D.B. Hibbard's large, first class passenger stage coaches, then which there are no better, or more attention paid to the comfort and pleasure of passengers for the 13 miles to the capital. [LSJ-1866-0117]
1866. A.L. Todd, Assistant Superintendent of the J&LS was quietly sitting in the bar room of one of the hotels here, engaged in reading, when, without any cause or provocation, he was assailed by three ruffians from Canada, whose brains were muddled by whisky. He was knocked down and badly bruised in the face and otherwise, so that he was unable to appear in court at their trial. They were immediately arrested, tried and fined $28 each. The feeling of the citizens was so intense, that if it had not been for the protection of officers, they would have been badly handled when they were released from the custody of the law. Mr. Todd is improving. [LSJ-1866-0404]
1902. A new passenger station is built here by the MC, at a cost of $7,650. [MCR-1902]
1912. March 5.The most serious wreck which has occurred in this vicinity in several years was one near Kilwinning gravel pit two miles south of Mason about 7 o'clock last evening. It was a rear-end collision between two freights going north. Five cars caught fire and were burned, the flames showing for miles around. The first train had stopped while the engine ran into the station for water, as the railroad laws of the state says shall be done, and while the cars stood there a short freight, going at a good speed ran into the rear end of the train, due to the failure of the (station) semaphore to work. Fortunately no one was hurt, although the caboose was hoisted to the topo of the engine and was almost immediately in flames.
Among the cars burned was a refrigerator car filled with meat and one car of coal. The next car following those burned contained a consignment of $4,000 worth of new buggies and this luckily escaped injury. The trainmen in the telescoped caboose and those on the engine saw that a crash was inevitable and all jumped to safety. A car load of glass was thrown from the track and broken glass was very much in evidence. Two wrecking crews were soon on the scene and at 5:30 o'clock this morning trains were again able to pass the scene of the accident. [LSJ-1912-0305]
1917. The MC had an operator-agent here around-the-clock. [TRT]
The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:
