| DEPOTS |
| 1881 view of St. Johns |
| Earlier in these pages I mentioned Mr. Bell, the Superintendent of the road, saying they were going to build a new depot at St. Johns which turned out to be just a rumor. In November, 1868 The Clinton Republican reported: "The D. & M. R.R. is making arrangements to erect a new depot at the foot of Oakland street in this village. The ground and work will be commenced in a few days. It is to be constructed of Ionia brick and will be 32 by 70 feet, one story high, with a platform and veranda extending around the entire building." In June the following year the building was completed. In the above drawing this new depot is shown at the end of Oakland street. This drawing is from a 1881 panoramic view of St. Johns. |
| Floor plan of the 1869 depot. There was a water tank installed above the ceiling on the east end of the building as at this early date there was no city water. The end view shows the ticket office door on the right and the mens restroom door on the left. |
| Early morning west view of the 1869 depot at St. Johns. The next building west is the freight house. This photo from a post card, was taken cica. 1910. |
| Around The Depot When the D.&M. arrived in St. Johns, it opened a new era of communication with the rest of the State. The depot was the center of this communication, with the coming and going of passengers, the daily arrival of mail, the telegraph, and the stages that ran north and south from St. Johns. During the Civil War the depot at St. Johns was the scene of men leaving and arriving for war. In November, 1863 The Clinton Republican said: "About sixty conscripts and those intending to offer themselves as substitutes, left this place on Monday for Corunna by the 10:10 am train. All appeared as composed as if proceeding to an ordinary business transaction....no murmuring, dejected looks, or malignant demonstrations. This cheerful response to the call of the Government gave us renewed confidence in the patriotism, intelligence and virtue of a majority, at least, of the people of Clinton county, to which loyalty to the Union against sympathy with traitors has never appealed in vain." At the end of the war the D.&M. through St. Johns had special passenger trains west bound for the ferry at Grand Haven with troops going home. At this time period the D.&M. was a major east - west route through Michigan. Once a month the pay car arrived at St. Johns and made the D.&M. employees happy. The Clinton Republican reported on March 23,1882: "All the attaches of the D., G.H.&M. pay car, from the paymaster down to the fireman and brakeman, are now provided with two revolvers each, while the train is making its regular monthly runs. These precautions are being taken in consequence of the frequency of train robberies of late in the far west." Watch out Jesse James!!! In January,1880 a new service was started at the depot for the benefit of farmers, merchants and the |
| traveling public. Each morning a daily weather report was received by telegraph and posted in the depot waiting room. A.O.Hunt, who had a drug store on the east side of Clinton ave., erected a pole in front of his store from which he displayed the weather indications everyday. A white flag was clear or fair weather, blue flag was rain or snow, white flag with black center was cold wave, black triangular flag above other flags was warmer weather, below other flags was colder weather. Hunt used the weather report from the depot to place his flags. Another important use of the telegraph at the depot was the reporting of fires to the St. Johns Fire Department when other communities along the rail - road needed assistance. The railroad was used to transport fire equipment to these communities. The villages of Michigan in those days were always plagued by the threat of fire. The Clinton Republican reported on July 8,1886: "Last Sunday morning the shrill whistle of a freight engine and the clatter of the fire bell created a commotion among our citizens, and the news flew quickly that Ovid was on fire. The freight train had been sent after the St. Johns fire department and they promptly responded, the run to Ovid being made in eleven minutes, but the fire was under control when they arrived and the engine was not taken off the train." This didn't always work out for the best, as in May,1888 when the Owosso casket factory burned, the St. Johns fire department was called, but due to three trains having the yard plugged at St. Johns, they were delayed for an hour and reach Owosso too late. In the destructive fire at St. Johns Manufacturing in 1895 the railroad was used to bring over the Ionia and Owosso fire departments for help. |
| In the early 1900's the Grand Trunk Western was building lots of new depot structures on the railroad. To name a few; Lansing in 1902, Durand 1903, Port Huron 1907, and numerous other projects. In July 1911, officials of the Grand Trunk Railway Co. announced in The St. Johns News that they were going to build a new $20,000 station at St. Johns. Atty. Stanly for the company stated that plans were on hand for a new $20,000 passenger depot, a freight house office, and loading platform that would cost $6,335 and freight house team tracks for $3,993. The elevators of John Parr and Charles Sprague were to be moved to the north side of the tracks of the D., G.H. & M. Railroad Co. This land was directly east of Clinton ave and on the north side of Railroad street. On September 17, 1914 I found this news item in The St. Johns News: IMPROVEMENTS BEING MADE ON GRAND TRUNK DEPOT _____________ IT IS BEING RE - PAINTED AND LIGHTED THROUGHOUT "The Grand Trunk Depot is being painted and fixed up this week. Electric lights are being placed on the platform outside. These alterations and improvements will no doubt take the place of the new depot, which a few years ago, was to have been built." "This way of doing business is an outrage upon the people of St. Johns. For years the present depot has been an eye sore to our citizens and unfit in every way to take care of the needs of a city of this size. Three years ago the Grand Trunk company promised the city officials of St. Johns that they would build a new depot here in the near future. They have made most of the elevator owners move their buildings to make room for a new structure and the people of this city have been given every reason to believe that the company would build right away. Now to have them come on with a gang of men and fix up that antiquated old trap, with the idea of longer continuing its use as a station is an imposition upon the people of this city." "To say the least they have their guts with them. ______________ |
| This was a reprieve for the depot built back in 1869, but on March 28, 1920 the tornado came to St. Johns and took care of the problem. Now the Grand Trunk people were forced into building their new depot and freight house designed back in 1911. |
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