The William and Mable Porteous Depot

The William and Mable Porteous Depot. A Recreation of Our Historical Train Depot. , History of the Depots in Reed City , There is very little information about the first two depots, other than the fact that they existed. The third Reed City Depot, built in 1892 was the octagonal depot we’ve replicated here. It was designed in 1891 by prominent New York City architect Bradford Lee Gilbert. Gilbert had a contract with a variety of railroads, including the Flint and Pere Marquette Railway, and in that capacity built depots and other railroad buildings all over the country. Gilbert also designed a number of prominent buildings in New York City. , At the time, however, because of Gilbert’s stature, and his resulting unique design, the Reed City Depot was known as being one of the finest in the state for a community the size of Reed City. Following is a description out of the November/December 1993 issue of Michigan History magazine:

“The Grand Rapids and Indiana and the Flint and Pere Marquette Station at Reed City exemplified the small junction passenger station. Standing where two roads cross, the vertex of this Queen Anne structure was the octagonal core, containing the waiting room. Positioned at right angles to the octagon, baggage rooms ran parallel to each respective railroad on the track side, and a women’s waiting room and rest room, and a men’s smoking room and rest room off the other sides.”

The depot’s passenger wings were demolished in 1939, as the Great Depression affected railroad prosperity. The remaining passenger structure (assumably the octagonal building, but references aren’t clear) was closed in 1957 and demolished in favor of a parking lot in the late 60’s. , In 1872, there was also a locomotive house and a turntable on the railroad property in Reed City, but no further reference to these structures was found in any sources. Any remaining freight structures were razed in 1978. , Research by Karen Zais , The Diamond Crossing , The intersecting rails forming the “diamond” are the original rails of the two railroads that intersected at this point in downtown Reed City. The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, “the Fishing Line,” reached Reed City from the south in 1870. A year later in November 1871 the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad was completed to Reed City from the east. They crossed just to the east of here. , In 1892 the Reed City Union Depot was constructed. The graceful structure commanded the southwest corner of the diamond. , The GR&I ran from Fort Wayne, Indiana to the Straits of Mackinac while the F&PM operated east and west from Saginaw to Ludington. They both carried the people and goods of Michigan throughout the State. At their peak, twelve passenger trains a day stopped in Reed City. , Over time, the declining forestry and oil production gradually eroded the railroad business. The GR&I became the Pennsylvania Railroad, then the Penn Central RR, then Conrail and finally the Michigan Northern Railway that was owned by the State of Michigan. In similar fashion the Chesapeake and Ohio RR purchased the F&PM, which then became the Chessie System, the Seaboard Coast Line and finally CSX. , The Michigan Northern RR abandoned service to Reed City in 1984. The CSX followed suit in 1987. The Union Depot had preceded the railroad’s demise when it was demolished for parking. By 1991 the tracks were removed from Reed City. The Michigan Department of Transportation obtained the rails making up the “diamond crossing” through a donation. , The abandoned railroad rights-of-way were designated Rails-to-Trails. In 1996 the Crossroads Trail, part of the old Flint and Pere Marquette route was paved between Reed City and Hersey. The Crossroads Trail was incorporated into the Pere Marquette State Trail. The former GR&I route became the White Pine Trail State Park. , On July 19, 1998 the “diamond crossing” returned to Reed City. The Diamond Crossing Memorial is dedicated to William Porteous who is recognized as the Father of the White Pine Trail for his innovative ideas and commitment to the completion of the project. , Research by George Freeman with input from William Porteous. , William and Mable Porteous , William and Mable Porteous, above, were instrumental in bringing the Reed City trail system to the prominence it enjoys today. We owe a great debt of gratitude to them for their foresight in shaping the trail system in Reed City. The Reed City Depot is named in honor of William and Mable Porteous. , On Wednesday, August 29, 2007 a groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin building our new depot. On Saturday, July 12, 2008 Reed City celebrated the Grand Opening of this new depot. The community enthusiasm and participation can be seen in the many personalized bricks and pavers surrounding the building. , The construction of the Reed City Depot was made possible by the generosity of the Reed City Downtown Development Authority, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and Michigan Department of Natural Resources with the assistance of the City of Reed City, Council and Staff. , The depot was designed by Gary Gerber of Gerber Architectural (who also provided ex- tensive research into historic depot design), built by Terry Gerber of Gerber Construction with landscaping by Marlies Manning of Manning Design Landscape Architecture. We gratefully acknowledge the generous contributions of many people, and the hard work and dedication of those involved with making our dream come true.