Railway

This county has good railway service, all under one management, as the Chicago and West Michigan, which with its branches, is about 500 miles in length. The management is excellent, and accidents are almost unknown. G. C. Kimball is general manager, F. A. Nims solicitor, and A.M. Nichols is general freight and passenger agent, and to the energy, and shrewd and obliging management of the latter, the success of the road is greatly due. The road passes north from Montague through the entire of Grant and Shelby Townships, into the east of Golden, thence turning to west to Pentwater, with branch of about four miles from Mears to Hart. For a number of years rival routes to reach the county - the "Gardner" road, from Kalamazoo, via Grand Rapids, and the "Joy" road from Muskegon and New Buffalo - with an ultimate triumph to the latter. Other roads from Newaygo County, via Hesperia, were also projected, but have come to naught. In 1871, disheartened by former failures, the people of the county were quiet on railway matters, until the arrival of Samuel A. Browne, when he, as President, with others, formed a company and projected the Montague, Pentwater & Manistee Road, and it was built by Thompson, Smith & Co., of Detroit, under a contract from James F. Joy, as President of the Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore road. In 1881 the name was changed into Chicago & West Michigan Railway. Hart, the county seat, being without a railway, its enterprising men went to work and paid for one by private subscriptions to the amount of $12,000, which were all honorably paid up. There were twelve citizens who backed all the notes: T. S. Gurney, W. M. Wigton, J. K. Flood, W. Coolidge, J. R. BUtler, A. R. Chappell, F. J. Russell, O. W. Knox, W. E. Thorp, W. J. Sprigg, E. T. Mugford, Wigton & Bosworth, K. E. Reed. The road is four miles long, and is from Mears, and the citizens of Hart paid for right of way, grading, site for depot and depot building, and gave money for a water tank, which they never got.