The Fishing Line: A History of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad by Graydon M. Meints

Abstract

142 The Michigan Historical Review diverse Midwest, complete with a “multitude of social Midwests” and a plurality of Midwestern identities (p. 331). That the most frequently mentioned Midwestern figures across the volume (Garrison Keillor, Abraham Lincoln, and Meredith Willson each appear in four chapters, and Sinclair Lewis in five chapters) are white men, however, indicates that much work remains to ensure that the “new” Midwestern history critically attends to race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. While the introduction offers an excellent overview of the essays, each section would benefit from a brief introduction that more fully explains the connections among its chapters, and the relevance of the section’s theme for rethinking the field. An epilogue outlining next steps would provide greater cohesiveness and rally the reader to invest further in critical midwestern studies. Scholars of Michigan history will find the volume valuable for its consideration of the state’s relationship to the region. Part of the challenge of re-energizing Midwestern historiography, the editors note, is a lack of academic infrastructure that is necessary for legitimizing and sustaining research on the region. Finding a New Midwestern History contributes to a growing groundswell of scholarship that is addressing this deficit and catalyzing the field’s revitalization. Collectively, the book’s contributors illuminate the richness and complexity of the field, and they articulate why the Midwest deserves consideration anew in both scholarly research and the popular imagination. Elizabeth Grennan Browning Indiana University, Bloomington Graydon M. Meints. The Fishing Line: A History of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2018. Pp. 267. Appendices. Bibliography. Illustrations. Index. Notes. Paper: $39.95. Chronicled in this company history is the roughly seven-decade saga of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad (GR&I). In 1920, when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) folded this Grand Rapids-based company into its corporate structure, it was larger than the typical shortline, yet smaller than the average Class I road. The GR&I spanned the approximately 460 miles between Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Mackinaw City, Michigan, and the 40 miles between Grand Rapids and Muskegon. It also operated a modest network of branch lines. The early history of the CR&I was one of fits and starts. It struggled to obtain funding to become more than a paper project. Although Book Reviews 143 incorporated in 1854, the company did not start right-of-way grading until 1865. Yet its local backers remained optimistic, spurred on by a substantial land grant in 1864 from the State of Michigan and financial aid from private investors and several projected on-line communities. In the immediate post-Civil War period, individuals associated with the PRR saved the gestating railroad. It was through their Continental Improvement Company (CIC) that much of the GR&I became reality and a profitable arrangement for the construction firm happened. For years, the GR&I service territory featured two distinct parts. South of Grand Rapids, the countryside was well settled with an assortment of towns and villages, but north of Grand Rapids, the railroad initially sliced through a densely forested region. Throughout much of the remainder of the nineteenth century, the railroad facilitated the lumber industry and fostered town creation. But as timber resources declined, the GR&I promoted agriculture and emphasized summer tourism, becoming a sparkplug for summer resorts in the greater Traverse City region. Its passenger business became more important than for most Michigan carriers. Freight traffic was not insignificant; coal and merchandise became common inbound commodities. Although the GR&I went through the bankruptcy wringer more than once, it had become a financially stable property by the early twentieth century. After World War I, the Pennsylvania, which for some time had controlled the road, made additional betterments and adjustments. Locomotives, for example, became more powerful. Yet as modal competition increased, passenger traffic declined, and branches were paired down or scrapped. Much later, with the creation of Penn Central (PRR and New York Central), which in 1976 morphed into the quasipublic Conrail, further changes occurred, including abandonment of sections of the historic mainline. Graydon Meints has fashioned a solid corporate history. In The Fishing Line, he has focused heavily on finance, politics, and economic impact. Little is said about technology, social history, and labor relations. A portion of the...