A Look Inside

The Ann Arbor Courier is kicking against the Michigan Central because the grounds at the depot in Ann Arbor are not kept in better condition. Of course they do look a little bare to one who has seen those at Ypsilanti, but then, they can't expect the Central to furnish a Laidlaw for every flag station along the line. --July 11, 1895 Ypsilantian

Circa-1900-Photo Sleuthing

It's fun to try and pin down the spot from which this photo was taken (click for larger images). To begin with, the legends written on this photo read, from left to right,

High School (now Cross Street Village)
River Street
Deubel Mill (demolished)
Follett House (still part of Depot Town)
M.C.R.R. Depot (demolished, mostly)
Thompson Building (burned)


Now then. The big building at far left (labeled "A")...hmm, there are two possibilities on the 1895 plat map, above; the large building at left ("A") and the smaller one labeled "School." But the building in the photo is right up against the street, whereas the school seems to be set back a bit. On the other hand, there appears to be more land in the photo between the big building and the tracks than there is indicated on the plat map. Hmm. Gonna guess that the road most prominent in the photo, right next to the farmyard, is Grove.

The fenced area in the photo ("B")---is that the old Gilbert property?

In the background is an odd-shaped building ("C") that I'm guessing is the now-vanished railroad roundhouse. Do you think so?

Another complication is that if the visible street is Grove, the photo's foreground farmyard appears on the plat map not as a big plot but subdivided into several tiny lots. It's possible that the farmer in question bought several of these lots for his little farmyard, but it seems more likely that it would be shown on the plat map as one bigger property, like the "Gage, Est." property at the southeast corner of the tracks and Prospect.

I'm not sure. What do you think?

* * * UPDATE! * * *
There are some amazing sleuths out there; my hat is off to you. No sooner had I posted this than one eagle-eyed reader ID'd the big building: it is part of the modern building of Marsh Plating on Grove! Check it out!

You can even see this old section on Google Maps; the staggered roof line gives it away:

You can see on that map that SOS Community Services currently occupies the site of the old cruciform 5th Ward school building, which seems to have been demolished.

Take a gander at what Joe said: "I think the picture was taken at about Prospect [as cmadler said also] and Congress. It also looks like it was taken from atop a building. I would guess maybe the 5th ward school."

Looks as though that was the only high point around, on the old plat map. Folks, I think we've figgered this out: this is a photo taken from atop the old 5th Ward school, looking northwest towards Depot Town. You guys are amazing! Thank you!

Ypsilanti's Battery-Powered Depot

This story started out as just a picturesque depiction of a day at the Ypsilanti Depot. Well, then the guy goes and mentions an obscure early battery, and I spent the rest of the day researching early batteries and completely geeking out. Husband even got out his voltmeter and we were testing stuff in the kitchen, no joke. This was late at night, even. But I did manage to learn something, and I hope today's Citizen story is as interesting to read as it was to research.

The Great Depot Town Train Crash of 1939: Photos

The famous late-Depression Depot Town derailment that took out more of the previously damaged depot.

The little boy in the first few pictures looks to be around 6 years old. Perhaps he was born around 1933, which would make him around 77 today. It's quite possible this crash still lives in living memory in several Ypsilantians. Perhaps the little boy is someone who's now living in Cross Street Village. Or someone's uncle, or something Grandpa mentioned a couple of Thanksgivings ago.

I would love to find this former little boy who looked, astonished, at these tumbled bricks and tossed-about railcars all those years ago...and hear what he had to say.

Click for larger images.