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PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — The whistles of the Mason & Oceana Railroad have been silent for more than a century, but this spring local historians will once again bring the “Miserable & Ornery” back to life.
Back by popular demand following 2024’s sold-out railroad history excursion, the Mason County Historical Society will host “Touring the Mason & Oceana Railroad” from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, May 30. The event is sponsored by Shelby State Bank.
The program will begin at Historic White Pine Village where participants will board buses to follow the former narrow-gauge railroad’s route through Mason County.
Along the way, costumed interpreters portraying historical figures will recount stories from the line’s colorful past while narrators explain how the railroad shaped the economic development of the region. Guides for the tour include Mason County Historical Society directors Mike Hankwitz and Rob Alway.
The Mason & Oceana Railroad was founded in 1874 during the height of Michigan’s lumber boom. Originally created to haul timber from inland forests to mills and docks near Ludington, the railroad eventually stretched north and east through Mason and Oceana counties, reaching communities including Riverton, Wiley, Fern, Peachville, and Walkerville before terminating north of Hesperia.
The line was closely tied to the lumber empire of Horace Butters and Richard G. Peters, whose sawmills and salt operations at Buttersville depended on the railroad to move massive quantities of logs and finished products. Local historian Robert W. Garasha wrote in his book “The Mason & Oceana Railroad at Buttersville, Michigan,” published in the 1950s, that the railroad emerged from a primitive logging tramway that carried timber from forests near the Pere Marquette River.
As the railroad expanded, it became more than a logging operation. Passenger trains, mail service and agricultural shipments transformed the M&O into an important transportation artery for western Michigan. Farmers shipped produce from Walkerville to Milwaukee markets through connections with Ludington’s carferries, while residents used the line for travel, shopping and recreation.
Though officially known as the Mason & Oceana Railroad, locals often referred to it as the “Miserable & Ornery,” a nickname born from its rough ride, frequent derailments and rugged operating conditions. The narrow-gauge line twisted through forests, crossed wooden trestles and navigated sharp curves along the Pere Marquette Lake shoreline.
Garasha’s history of the railroad describes the line as both dangerous and essential. Train crews routinely battled snowstorms, primitive equipment and unstable track. Yet despite the hardships, the railroad carried millions of feet of timber and helped open remote areas of Mason and Oceana counties to settlement and commerce.
At its peak during the late 1800s, Buttersville itself became a thriving industrial community. Sawmills, shingle mills, salt blocks, docks and warehouses lined the shore near Pere Marquette Lake. Steamships connected the railroad’s freight operations to ports throughout the Great Lakes.
The railroad’s decline came as Michigan’s virgin timber forests disappeared and transportation patterns changed during the early 20th century. A devastating 1909 fire destroyed much of the Buttersville industrial complex, crippling the railroad’s primary source of business. Passenger and freight service soon ended, and large sections of track were abandoned.
Garasha wrote that by the early 1910s, Buttersville had become a ghost town, with homes relocated and Lake Michigan gradually erasing traces of the once-bustling community.
Today, remnants of the railroad still exist in grades, trails and scattered artifacts across the countryside. A locomotive that was the same model used by the railroad is on display at Historic White Pine Village, giving visitors a tangible connection to the narrow-gauge railroad era.
The upcoming tour follows a successful 2024 excursion organized by the historical society that explored portions of the former Manistee & Grand Rapids Railroad in Mason and Manistee counties. That event sold out and received enthusiastic reviews from participants.
Following the bus tour, visitors will return to White Pine Village where James Jensen, president of the Mason County Historical Society, will give a presentation about the Butters & Peters lumbering operation followed by a catered meal.
Tickets for this year’s Mason & Oceana tour cost $75 per person and include the bus tour, dinner and admission to Historic White Pine Village. Proceeds will benefit the Mason County Historical Society, a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 that preserves local history through its museums, archival collections and educational programs.
The society operates the Rose Hawley Archives, Historic White Pine Village, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum and the Mason County Emporium.
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