Potts Logging Railway¶
SOURCE: From Wikipedia
McKinley - Mentor Township, Michigan¶
Mentor Township consists of the southeast quarter of Oscoda County. This township has 144 square miles, four times the size of a "normal" township. Over 95 % of it is in the Huron National Forest, with many low-lying scrub pine areas where Kirtland’s Warblers nest. The Au Sable River flows along the northern border, with many access points for canoers. The small community of McKinley, on the Au Sable along County Road F-32 is located in the northeast corner of the township. This was once known as "Potts’ Headquarters," the first thriving community in the lumber era of the 1880’s, complete with hotels, stores and churches -- started by an early settler from Simcoe, Canada, J. E. Potts. His J. E. Potts Salt & Lumber Company just east in Iosco County became one of the world’s largest until 1890, when the lumber era came to an abrupt halt. The town also declined rapidly, as there was no railroad nearby, leaving it landlocked, accessible only by the river.
Railroad¶
presented by Silent Whistles, the Oscoda - Au Sable Historical Museum and the Steiner Museum.
Log train in McKinley rail yards
In 1886, the J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company built a narrow gauge (3' between the rails) logging railroad from it's company headquarters at Potts (later McKinley) in eastern Oscoda County. On July 27th, 1887. Potts organized the railroad as the Potts Logging Railway. The railroad was constructed in two different directions from Potts to tap stands of timber. One line was built northwest to what would become Fairview, then on to lumber camps at a place called Tong in north-west Oscoda County. A second line was built south-west into northern Ogemaw County, then west, then north back in to Oscoda County, along Big Creek to Lewiston. After acquiring the business, Loud renamed the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern. Shortly after, he extended the north branch of the railroad further northwest to Lewiston and Bear lake, and over the next ten years, removed the south branch and most of the original north branch, and built the line to Comins to tap stands of timber there. Eventually, the line was moved to pass through Hardy and McCollums and extended from Hardy east to Curran.
McKinley (formerly Potts):
When the Potts Lumber and Salt Company fell into financial difficulty after extending the Potts Lumber Railway to Oscoda, the H.M. Loud Lumber Company stepped in, buying Potts out, lock, stock and railroad. On January 2, 1892, Loud renamed the camp, village and Post Office of Potts to McKinley, in honor of the late president.
By 1897, the population had reached about 250. In 1900, a fire wiped out the railroad facilities here and since the railroad had all but replaced the river as a method for moving logs to the sawmills on Lake Huron, and since the lands along the original Potts Logging Railway were logged over, Loud elected to move the railroad operation to Commins, twelve miles north. The company removed its remaining buildings and moved them to Commins. The residence all but abandoned the town, leaving a population around 20 by 1907. The post office was closed in September, 1913. By 1920, the site was completely abandoned.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, McKinley experienced a rediscovery and rebirth as as vacation spot. The area is a popular spot to hunt fish and access the river for canoeing, kayaking and fishing. Little or nothing is left of the original settlement, but the place is once again a busy spot in the forest.
J E Potts Salt & Lbr Co., Engine 5 & passenger car at camp in northern Ogemaw Co., 1890, Brooks C1531 4/1889, 15x18/38 gauge 36 in to AuSable & NW 5. (Collection Title Claude Thomas Stoner Photographs and Papers)
Potts, circa 1891, after passenger service to Au Sable had started. Potts (later McKinley):
J.E. Potts, owner of the Potts Lumber and Salt Company, established a camp on the banks of the Au Sable River in the early 1880s for the purpose of harvesting and banking logs and floating them down the river to Au Sable each spring and summer. As was common, the name of the camp and subsequent settlement was the name of the owner of the camp. In 1885 or 1886, the company built narrow gauge rail lines north and southwest from the camp to bring logs here from greater distances from the river. A post office was established as Potts on June 3rd, 1886, with Jeremiah D. Hunt as postmaster. The expanding companies’ headquarters grew as well, with engine service facilities and car shops built here.
Potts / McKinley cook shack, with the cook holding the dinner horn.
By 1891, the rail line had been extended to Au Sable, but the expansion bankrupted Potts Lumber and Salt Co. Potts sold the whole business to H.M. Loud Lumber Company who reestablished the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad. On January 2, 1892, the post office and town were renamed McKinley in honor of President McKinley.
Railway Maps¶
Potts Logging Railway, circa 1886.
In 1886, the J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company built a narrow gauge (3' between the rails) logging railroad from it's company headquarters at Potts (later McKinley) in eastern Oscoda County. On July 27th, 1887. Potts organized the railroad as the Potts Logging Railway. The railroad was constructed in two different directions from Potts to tap stands of timber. One line was built northwest to what would become Fairview, then on to lumber camps at a place called Tong in north-west Oscoda County. A second line was built south-west into northern Ogemaw County, then west, then north back in to Oscoda County, along Big Creek to Lewiston.
Potts Logging Railway, circa 1891.
Potts made a bold attempt to connect his isolated lumber railroad to the outside world and become a common carrier (passengers and other freight). By early 1891, he extended the line south-east to connect with the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad and Great Lakes Shipping docks in Au Sable. In doing so, Potts overextended the company and it failed financially. The troubled Potts Logging Railway and its parent, J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company was purchased by the H.M. Loud Lumber Company on July 17th, 1891. Henry M. Loud reorganized the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad.
Locomotives¶
Built for: J. E. Potts Salt & Lumber Co. 03/04/1885
The locomotive, named "Jerry Hunt", operated on the company's Au Sable & Northern RR near Potts, Michigan
Lima Machine Works
Photo Credit: Gibson P. Vance collection
Built for: J. E. Potts Salt & Lumber Co., Au Sable & Northern RR, Potts, MI - early 1887