{"id":342,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=342"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:14:56","slug":"streetcar-and-interurban-railway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/streetcar-and-interurban-railway\/","title":{"rendered":"The Streetcar and the Interurban Railway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"West
West entrance to the College and streetcar terminus, circa 1895. Faintly visible at the top of the hill is the President\u2019s house, \u2116 1 Faculty Row<\/a>. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>, reprinted in Stanford<\/a>, p. 5.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Early transportation to and from the Michigan Agricultural College was arduous at best. \u201cStudents and state board members coming to the college in the early days from Detroit and vicinity traveled by rail to Jackson, thence by plank road to Eaton Rapids, and stage to Lansing.\u201d Once in Lansing, the travelers would have to hire a driver to bring them the rest of the way by horse-drawn wagon, either along the Lansing\u2013Howell Plank Road<\/a> or along the Middletown East road, an unpaved lane that evolved into Michigan Avenue.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1885, the Lansing City Railway Company was formed and built one of its two original lines along Michigan Avenue from Washington Avenue to the Michigan Central Railway tracks\u2014a distance of less than half a mile. The streetcar tracks were made of wood with strap-iron nailed on top, and the cars were pulled by horses. Over the next ten years the line was incrementally extended eastward, to the city limits (near Clemens Avenue) by 1888, then to the Half-way Stone<\/a> and beyond. New ownership in 1890 converted to electric operation, dug up the wooden track and replaced it with heavier iron, and in 1892 reorganized as the Lansing City Electric Railway Company.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This extension of the railway far past the outskirts of Lansing\u2019s developed area was specifically due to the existence of the Agricultural College, and by 1895 it finally reached the west entrance of the school (now Beal Entrance). The following spring, having resolved to establish a women\u2019s course<\/a> at the school, the Board of Agriculture sent a committee consisting of President Jonathan Snyder, Secretary Ira Butterfield, and Professor Herman Vedder<\/a> to urge the railway to extend its track \u201calong the highway to the township line\u201d at Abbot Road, to bring the terminus closer to the college buildings. However, the committee were specifically asked not to allow the line to enter campus thanks to the \u201cstrong objection\u201d of one board member (whom Beal left unnamed) who feared that the streetcar would bring an \u201cundesirable human element\u201d to the campus from Lansing, as well as allow easy access to Lansing\u2019s saloons by college students.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Streetcar
Streetcar waiting room (left) and Station Terrace<\/a> (right), 1901. The following year, the waiting room was replaced by a larger Post Office and Trolley Station<\/a>. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whoever the objecting member was, it seems that he might have been replaced in the next round of board appointments in 1897, because when the railway continued the line along Michigan and Grand River Avenues, the track ran onto campus near the old north entrance to the school (across from Evergreen Avenue) and terminated midway between Faculty Row \u2116 6<\/a> and Station Terrace<\/a>\u2014today, the site of Louise H. Campbell Hall.†<\/a><\/sup> The first streetcar entered the grounds on Friday, November 19, 1897, and the College soon built a small but cozy waiting room alongside the track. Unsurprisingly, streetcar service direct to campus turned out to be an amenity that helped to spur the College\u2019s first substantial increase in enrollment.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u201cThe
\u201cThe Casino\u201d and playground at Pine Lake, no later than 1908. Image source: Forest Parke Library and Archives<\/a>, reprinted in Raphael<\/a>, p. 34.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The line soon continued onward. The Lansing & Suburban Traction Company, which acquired the Lansing City Electric in 1904, began to convert the streetcar line into an interurban line with larger and faster cars, and planned a major extension to the system. In February 1905, the company was granted a right-of-way from Horace and Clara Angell to lay track through College Grove<\/a> along M.A.C. Avenue to North Street,††<\/a><\/sup> where it made a wide turn to the east and headed out of town. By June, construction was completed to the resort area on the western shore of Pine Lake (now Lake Lansing). Lansing and East Lansing residents\u2014and M.A.C. students\u2014could take excursions to the lake and \u201cenjoy ice cream and the cooling lake breezes after dancing or skating\u201d in \u201cthe Casino,\u201d a large wooden pavilion that the railway company built on the shore. The extension was immediately popular, and the last return trip of the weekend was always filled to capacity.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Interurban
Interurban turns onto M.A.C. Avenue from North Street (now Burcham Drive), circa 1915. Image source: Louis Potter, E.L. Historical Society, reprinted in Miller<\/a>, p. 48.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The following year, 1906, the Michigan United Railways Company was formed as a consolidation of several rail lines throughout southern Michigan including the Lansing & Suburban. The M.U.R. continued to expand and upgrade the interurban, using a combination of overhead trolley wires (in cities and villages) and third rail (in rural areas). By 1911, the line reached all the way to Owosso and Corunna, a total distance of thirty-three miles from downtown Lansing. M.U.R. interurban cars departed from Lansing and Owosso every two hours from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.†††<\/a><\/sup> 6<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Map
A portion of T. Glenn Phillips\u2019 map, showing north campus circa 1924 prior to creation of Abbot Entrance. Soon to be removed were the electric railway loop, the trolley station<\/a> (A), Station Terrace<\/a> (B), the old hospital<\/a> (C), and \u2116 9<\/a> (D). Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>, via MSU CAP blog<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, on campus the old dead-end spur was converted into a turnaround loop in May 1907. This was in anticipation of the throngs of people who would soon arrive for the Semicentennial Celebration<\/a>, and allowed local cars to quickly start their return trips to downtown Lansing. Although it was intended as a temporary modification, the loop remained in place until autumn 1924, when it was removed to open the way for a new, formal Abbot Entrance. (This removal was not without its controversy, but the three-way fracas between the state, city, and railway amounted to very little in the end.)7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"East
East Grand River Avenue in 1924,††††<\/a><\/sup> with the interurban tracks looking worn in their last years of operation. In the distance, a diamond-shaped sign warns drivers of the tracks crossing Grand River as they turn onto M.A.C. Avenue. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As motor busses gained popularity and the state highway system developed, the interurban railway met its demise. Ironically, the M.U.R. contributed to its own end via its Southern Michigan Transportation Company affiliate, which began bus operations in 1925. While newspaper reports claimed \u201cthe electric roads can operate many of these bus lines as feeders and supplements to their railway business, [to] help instead of injure the electric traffic,\u201d the S.M.T.C. acquired permits for services from Lansing that ran parallel to the M.U.R.\u2019s electric lines to Owosso, St. Johns, and Jackson. As a direct result the Michigan United Railway, despite being \u201cone of the best roads\u201d and having a \u201cphysical plant that was superior to most other interurbans,\u201d operated at a loss after 1925 and finally discontinued interurban service on all three lines, including the Lansing\u2013Owosso line, in 1929. A successor Lansing Transportation Company provided local streetcar service between Lansing and the College for a few years, until a labor strike and bankruptcy led to its shutdown on April 15, 1933.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Detail
Detail of 2003 East Lansing GIS zoning map, showing the curved interurban right-of-way at the north end of M.A.C. Avenue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The East Lansing city council had no interest in reviving the streetcar, and the tracks through the city were soon torn up and paved over. For many years, traces of the old line could be seen in the patched pavement of Grand River Avenue. Most surprisingly, in the mid-1980s during repaving work at the north end of M.A.C. Avenue at Burcham Drive, this author spotted remnants, including rusty rails and gravel ballast, of the same interurban curve shown in the above photo. Portions of this curve, which continued to appear on city zoning maps into the 2000s, might still be hidden under the front lawn of the former Tri-Delta sorority house at 634 M.A.C. Avenue.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A portion of the right-of-way, from east of the intersection of Burcham Drive and Park Lake Road in East Lansing to Marsh Road in Meridian Charter Township, has been paved as a pedestrian and bicycle trail, and is known as the Interurban Pathway. An extension is planned to continue along the right-of-way past Lake Lansing to Green Road, with design and engineering work started in 2023.10<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least two late-model interurban cars that once traveled this line survive today. Michigan Electric \u2116 28 is in the Illinois Railway Museum<\/a> at Union, Illinois. \u2116 29 is in the Lost Railway Museum<\/a> at Grass Lake, Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n

  1. Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0126. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. KGS\u00a0Geography<\/a>\u00a0\u2116\u00a027 (1983), pp.\u00a091\u2013105.\u00a0Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0127. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. KGS\u00a0Geography<\/a>\u00a0\u2116\u00a027 (1983), pp.\u00a091\u2013105.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, pp.\u00a0103\u20134.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 21\u00a0Feb\u00a01896, p.\u00a0138; 15\u00a0Apr\u00a01896, pp.\u00a0149\u201350. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0127.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 3(11), 23\u00a0Nov\u00a01897, p.\u00a03; 3(15), 21\u00a0Dec\u00a01897, p.\u00a01. 37th\u00a0AR<\/a>\u00a0(1898), p. 40. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. Street Railway Journal 25 (8), 25\u00a0Feb\u00a01905, p.\u00a0348. Chase v. Mich United Ry Co.,\u00a0165\u00a0Mich\u00a0493 (1911).\u00a0Raphael<\/a>, pp.\u00a033\u201335.\u00a0Miller<\/a>, p.\u00a049. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. LSJ<\/a>, 24\u00a0Nov\u00a01911, p. 8. Owosso Times, 24\u00a0Nov\u00a01911, p. 9.\u00a0Hilton<\/a>, p.\u00a0288. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. MAC Record<\/a>, 12(36), 28\u00a0May\u00a01907, p.\u00a03; 30(35), 31\u00a0Aug\u00a01925, p.\u00a0578.\u00a0LSJ<\/a>, 1\u00a0Oct\u00a01924, p.\u00a01.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 19\u00a0Jun\u00a01925, p.\u00a0633. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  8. LSJ<\/a>, 14\u00a0Oct\u00a01924, p.\u00a011; 15\u00a0Oct\u00a01932, p.\u00a01.\u00a0Hilton<\/a>, pp.\u00a0237, 241, 289. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  9. LSJ<\/a>, 6\u00a0Jun\u00a01933, p.\u00a08; 1\u00a0Jan\u00a01934, p.\u00a096. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  10. East Lansing Info,\u00a015\u00a0May\u00a02021<\/a>. Meridian Township,\u00a016\u00a0May\u00a02023<\/a>. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>
    1. † Since the Board wisely chose not to allow a corporation any rights on the College campus, the last 600 feet of road were built by the College at a cost of $360.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    2. †† North Street, so named because it was the northernmost boundary of the original East Lansing city limits, became commonly known as \u201cPine Lake Road\u201d after the interurban railway provided access to that resort area\u2014even though the street itself did not reach all the way to the lake. Around 1928, it was renamed to Burcham Drive.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    3. ††† That same year, Charles Chase sued to eject the railway from M.A.C. Avenue, an act that would have severely disrupted this service. That’s a different story<\/a>.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    4. †††† @CityofEL<\/a> tweeted this image on May 3, 2018, captioned \u201ccirca 1929.\u201d MSU Archives<\/a><\/span> are less equivocal, flatly stating 1929. However, the Grand River Avenue boulevard was opened by December 1924, after which the lanes seen here were westbound (toward the camera) only. Since the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (its sign partly visible at far left) moved to this location in February 1924, this author is certain that the correct date is 1924. Sources: MAC Record<\/a>, 30(12), 8 Dec 1924, p. 183; L<\/a>SJ<\/a>, 29 Feb 1924, p. 21.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Early transportation to and from the Michigan Agricultural College was arduous at best. \u201cStudents and state board members coming to the college in the early days from Detroit and vicinity traveled by rail to Jackson, thence by plank road to Eaton Rapids, and stage to Lansing.\u201d Once in Lansing, the travelers would have to hire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0126.\",\"id\":\"f077361e-5c40-450c-a697-93405b717882\"},{\"content\":\"KGS\u00a0Geography<\/a>\u00a0\u2116\u00a027 (1983), pp.\u00a091\u2013105.\u00a0Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0127.\",\"id\":\"40768606-cb8a-44f3-a3f5-980732304e20\"},{\"content\":\"KGS\u00a0Geography<\/a>\u00a0\u2116\u00a027 (1983), pp.\u00a091\u2013105.\u00a0Beal<\/a>, pp.\u00a0103\u20134.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 21\u00a0Feb\u00a01896, p.\u00a0138; 15\u00a0Apr\u00a01896, pp.\u00a0149\u201350.\",\"id\":\"b61cb3db-94ce-461c-a35e-4ad5cb243f38\"},{\"content\":\"Towar<\/a>, p.\u00a0127.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 3(11), 23\u00a0Nov\u00a01897, p.\u00a03; 3(15), 21\u00a0Dec\u00a01897, p.\u00a01. 37th\u00a0AR<\/a>\u00a0(1898), p. 40.\",\"id\":\"7ed1dba1-0f96-4548-92d4-54b40c0050b7\"},{\"content\":\"Street Railway Journal 25 (8), 25\u00a0Feb\u00a01905, p.\u00a0348. Chase v. Mich United Ry Co.,\u00a0165\u00a0Mich\u00a0493 (1911).\u00a0Raphael<\/a>, pp.\u00a033\u201335.\u00a0Miller<\/a>, p.\u00a049.\",\"id\":\"56f9b516-ac1c-4acf-8f18-1f7b494cbb0e\"},{\"content\":\"LSJ<\/a>, 24\u00a0Nov\u00a01911, p. 8. Owosso Times, 24\u00a0Nov\u00a01911, p. 9.\u00a0Hilton<\/a>, p.\u00a0288.\",\"id\":\"d9e5dd89-c4c2-4722-ad65-f600f00fe242\"},{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 12(36), 28\u00a0May\u00a01907, p.\u00a03; 30(35), 31\u00a0Aug\u00a01925, p.\u00a0578.\u00a0LSJ<\/a>, 1\u00a0Oct\u00a01924, p.\u00a01.\u00a0Minutes<\/a>, 19\u00a0Jun\u00a01925, p.\u00a0633.\",\"id\":\"4ce6ca90-2195-4dc2-8d48-86db6685bf47\"},{\"content\":\"LSJ<\/a>, 14\u00a0Oct\u00a01924, p.\u00a011; 15\u00a0Oct\u00a01932, p.\u00a01.\u00a0Hilton<\/a>, pp.\u00a0237, 241, 289.\",\"id\":\"393e1301-33bc-41b7-90c7-9afdff2706a7\"},{\"content\":\"LSJ<\/a>, 6\u00a0Jun\u00a01933, p.\u00a08; 1\u00a0Jan\u00a01934, p.\u00a096.\",\"id\":\"4607ecf0-4ce9-4436-8e39-56dbc7921552\"},{\"content\":\"East Lansing Info,\u00a015\u00a0May\u00a02021<\/a>. Meridian Township,\u00a016\u00a0May\u00a02023<\/a>.\",\"id\":\"adef63c7-85af-47cd-a5db-649d322c5784\"}]"},"categories":[32,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-and-around-east-lansing","category-m-a-c-campus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5735,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions\/5735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}