Electric Interurban Railway

Electric Interurban Railway. . , This replica of a turn of the century interurban rail waiting station is built on the former right of way of the D.U.R. - the Detroit Urban Railway. The D.U.R. was one of two interurban lines found in Grass Lake from about 1890 to the mid-1920's. A competitor to the line of native son, William A. Bolan., William A. Boland left our area to go east with his young family around 1880. In Massachusetts, he shared in profits of an invention related to shoe manufacturing. These profits enabled him to explore his interests in real estate, electrical power production and, most importantly, the development of electric rail lines. By 1894, he was taking a $12 million contract to build a Nassau Co, NY electric railway., Boland was instrumental in the development of interurban rail here. His goal to establish a line from Detroit to Chicago was not achieved, but his contributions were great. Original stockholders in his Jackson Suburban Traction Co were Grass Lake investors Henry M. Hobart, William F. Shaler and Jackson businessmen William A. and James B. Foote., The electric interurban rails changed the face of Grass Lake, as they enabled the movement from farms to work in the cities - for both men and women.