| Lake is 63 miles west of Saginaw on the route of the
original Pere Marquett Railroad. This company was formed in 1857 to take
advantage of a land grant for the building of a railroad between Flint and
Ludington, originally called Pere Marquette. In return for building the 170
miles of railroad, the company got about 1 million acres of land. It was
handed over in installments based on miles of track finished. By today's
standards a fantastic deal, but in that era it was hard to find investors
for the actual construction. Progress was very slow. But, by 1872 the railroad
had reached Lake. The line was completed to Ludington in 1874. As of 1877,
the railroad had sold about half a million acres at an average price of $8.50
an acre.
The route was abandoned in the early 1990's. Tracks were
removed between Clare and Baldwin.
The two-story depot usually was to provide living space
for the station agent and his family on the upper floor. The Lake depot is
now in use as a community center. |
