Time Line - 1856

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• July 1: Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad completes its Detroit-Toledo line.  It is acquired in 1856 by the Michigan Southern. [MDOT/MRRC/AAD]

• July 1: The Detroit & Milwaukee reaches Owosso from Fentonville. [MCR-75]

• December: The Michigan Central and the Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad reach an agreement which allows the MC to use the west side of the DM&T's route from West Detroit to Milwaukee Jct. for the purpose of building a branch to Bay City.  That option was activated on May 8, 1973. [EMR4]

• December: The Detroit Free Press reports that rail service between Detroit and Monroe has began.  [EMR4]

• The Detroit & Milwaukee  reaches Owosso from Fentonville. [AAD]

• Detroit & Milwaukee RR arrives at Durand. [MHM]

• Charlotteville Lumber Co. builds 7 mile long line in Berrien County (T6S R19W). Abandoned in 1870. [MRRC]

• Bay de Noquet and Marquette Railroad completes line from Marquette to just beyond Ishpeming. [SSJB]

• Michigan receives first federal railroad land grant. 3.8 million acres contributed by Federal government, joined with 1.7 million acres added by State of Michigan. [MDOT]

• The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern builds its first depot in Hudson, west of Adrian. It is a one-story frame structure. It was replaced in 1856, and was moved down the road to Cadmus. [NYC-Q1/1996]

• The Central Mining Company begins extraction and stamping of copper in Central, Michigan. It continues until 1898. Central reaches a population of 1,200 in 1883. [BOM]

• The Robinson, Russell & Company, freight car manufacturers, build shops on Croghan Street (now Monroe Avenue). [HWC]

• First railroad bridge spans the Mississippi River at Davenport, Iowa. [STOV]

• Railroads begin experimenting with passenger car seats that recline, a for-runner to the sleeping car. [AAD]

• Quincy Mine, on the hill north of Hancock opens. "Old Reliable" stays open until September 1, 1945. [MSL]

• The first bridge across the Mississippi River is completed by the Chicago & Rock Island railroad at Davenport, Iowa. [AARQJ] 

Time line Key:

• Railroad event in Michigan
• Event relating to mining
• Event related to car ferries
• Event outside of Michigan
• Improvement in Technology
• Railroad built or extended
• Railroad abandoned and/or removed
• Economic panic or depression