Rails Through Grosse Ile

About 1873, the Canada Southern Railroad built the first bridge connecting Grosse Ile with the mainland. Seeking the most direct route to link the agricultural products of the West through Chicago with East Coast markets through Buffalo, the railroad crossed Grosse Ile. At the time, Grosse Ile was a farming community of about 400 people whose primary access to the mainland was by boat. The railroad established a base of operations on the island that included machine shops, a roundhouse, and hotels and boarding houses for workers. In the next few years, Grosse Ile grew with the flow of freight and people. Because the line often transported Midwest livestock to Eastern markets, it was sometimes called the Meat Line.

Michigan · United States