GRAND RAPIDS AND INDIANA • RAILWAY COMPANY. This company, fifth in succession, owning a completed line of railroad starting at Fort Wayne,.Ind., running thence northerly through the city of Grand Rapids and the western section of Michigan to the Straits of Mackinac, 366.51 miles main line, with spurs and branches in Michigan, aggre 52.52, a total of 419.03 miles, had its inception first in January 1854, at Hartford, Ind., where a company known as Grand Rapids and Indiana Company No 1 was formed with the idea of building a railroad from Louisville, Ky., to the Michigan pineries, but accomplished nothing more than locating a line from Hart ford to the northern State line of Indiana, and also as far as Sturgis, Mich.
In May 1855 the Grand Rapids and South ern Railroad Company was organized in Mich igan by the same interests to build a railroad from Grand Rapids to the Indiana State line, and consolidated with the first company in September 1855, forming Grand Rapids and Indiana Company No. 2. Upon this company the State of Michigan, by an act of 14 Feb. 1857, conferred the lands granted to the State by an ,Act of Congress 3 June 1856, to aid in the construction of a railroad from Grand Rapids to some point on Little Traverse Bay.
In June 1857 the Grand Rapids and Macki naw Railroad Company and the Grand Rapids and Fort Wayne Railroad Company were cre ated and consolidated, forming Grand Rapids and Indiana Company No. 3.
The first 13 years of the life of this enter prise is replete with failures to construct any portion of its line between Fort Wayne and Grand Rapids. With the aid derived from the bonds voted by the cities of Fort Wayne and Grand Rapids it finally completed in Decem ber 1867 the first 20 miles of road from Grand Rapids north to Cedar Springs. As early as 1860 and 1861 the company had made two mort gages, the first to secure $5,000,000 and the sec ond $4,500,000.
On 30 Sept. 1869 a contract was entered into by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, lessee of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway, the Continental Improvement Com pany and the Grand Rapids and Indiana Rail road Company, for an issue of $8,000,000 7 per cent •bonds, secured upon the lands and road, running 30 years from 1 Oct. 1869
$4,000,000 of which were guaranteed by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway Company and $4,000,000 unguaranteed. With part of the proceeds of these bonds and the proceeds of $3,000,000 of debenture bonds, the Continental Improvement Company completed the road from Fort Wayne to Petoskey (Little Traverse Bay) in November 1873. The cost of road and equipment as per settlement contract was $10,848,250.
In June 1871 the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company took a lease for 99 years of the Cincinnati, Richmond and Fort Wayne Railroad, then building, and which was com pleted in December 1871, from Richmond, Ind., to Adams (five miles east of Fort Wayne), 86 miles, to be used as an outlet south of Fort Wayne for the traffic of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad.
The Continental Improvement Company, under a contract with the Traverse City Rail road Company, dated December 1871, com pleted the Traverse City Railroad from Trav erse City to Walton Junction, 26 miles, in De cember 1872, and this road was leased to the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company for 50 years from January 1883, rental being net earnings, which were guaranteed to equal annual interest on first mortgage bonds, $250,000.
In June 1881 the Grand Rapids, Indiana and Mackinaw Railroad Company was organized in the interest of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company for the purpose of extending its road from Bay View to Mackinaw City. This portion of the line was open for operation in July 1882. This company was consolidated with Grand Rapids and Indiana Company (No. 3) in October 1884, under the name of Grand Rapids and Indiana Company (No. 4).
The Bay View, Little Traverse and Macki naw Railroad Company, line from Bay View to Harbor Springs, Mich., six miles, completed its road in 1882; was sold under foreclosure pro ceedings in February 1888, and at sale by the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Company, which owned all its stock and bonds.