| The charming stick-style depot in
Moscow, Michigan was built by the Michigan & Ohio Railroad in 1883. This
railroad never was very successful. It was a late-comer to a part of Michigan,
25 miles north of the Ohio border, that was already laced with railroad lines.
The railroad was extended as far west as Allegan, but somehow managed to
avoid any major cities.
The railroad went bankrupt the first
time in 1886. Over the next few years, the railroad was owned or operated
by at least four different companies, none of them a financial success. By
1916, the line was part of the New York Central System. The Battle Creek-Moscow
portion was owned by the Michigan Central. East of Moscow belonged to the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. The line west of Battle Creek had been
sold to an interurban railroad .
As local rail traffic declined in
the 1920's, the old Michigan & Ohio Railroad went from marginal to a
looser. Around 1930, the rails were removed. The township bought the depot
and turned it into the Moscow Township Hall in 1933. |
