Glance at the Past

The Detroit, Grand Haven, and Milwaukee railroad provided the first rails to Grand Rapids, in 1858, and the only rails until 1869. After the Civil War, Grand Rapids was given a land grant to subsidize the construction of rails between Petoskey and Fort Wayne, Indiana. The rail between became known as the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad (GR&I). The Rails were demolished in 1961 to make way for US-131.