This Daytime Only cache was hidden as part of the tRails Along the Au Sable Geocache Rail Tour, presented by Silent Whistles, the Oscoda - Au Sable Historical Museum, and the Steiner Museum. Record the milepost value contained on and/or in each cache container on the Ticket to Au Sable form. See the additional information below for specific tour requirements.
Looking south-east from Comins. Depot (left) and Company Store (right) are in the foreground.
Comins:
The village of Comins got its start in 1900 when the H.M. Loud Lumber Company began to tap stands of White Pine in the northern part of Oscoda County. When the railroad shops in McKinley burned, Loud moved the railroad headquarters to Comins. A post office was opened on November 15th, 1900. Comins was a funnel for the three branch lines that came from the west (Hill and Marsh), north-west (Herrick and Bonard) and north-east (Le Lone and Fitzpatrick), bringing timber for shipment to the mills in Au Sable. Comins was the northern terminus of passenger operations on the railroad.
Along with the railroad headquarters, Loud moved the McKinley depot, which also housed the AS&NW Reading Room, to Commins. The building was hoisted onto log bunks or a flat cars and slowly pulled up the old North Branch, then the bypass to Millen and on into Comins. It's new home was in the area just south of where the caboose sits today.
Comins Depot after move from McKinley.
When the railroad pulled out in 1927, Comins somehow survived. Michigan Highway 33 may have had some influence on its health. Today, nearly one hundred years later, Comins is still supported largely by the lumber industry. There are several sawmills in the area. The Steiner Museum, between Comins and Fairview, has a rich history of exhibits abuot lumbering in the area.
Another interesting piece of Comins history is the Carrie James, today a restaurant. The building was first constructed on Mackinac Island or in Sault Ste. Marie (depending on the sources) in the mid 1800s as a hotel. In 1893, the building was moved to Lewiston to support the lumbering business there. In 1914, it was disassembled, moved to Comins and re-erected and opened again as a hotel. At some point, the name was changed to the Rails End Restaurant. It was recently purchased and the name changed back to the original, Carrie James. It is probably one of the best traveled restaurant buildings in the country.
Railroad:
In 1886, the J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company built a narrow gauge (3' between the rails) logging railroad from it's company headquarters at Potts (later McKinley) in eastern Oscoda County. On July 27th, 1887. Potts organized the railroad as the Potts Logging Railway. The railroad was constructed in two different directions from Potts to tap stands of timber. One line was built northwest to what would become Fairview, then on to lumber camps at a place called Tong in north-west Oscoda County. A second line was built south-west into northern Ogemaw County, then west, then north back in to Oscoda County, along Big Creek to Lewiston.
Potts made a bold attempt to connect his isolated lumber railroad to the outside world and become a common carrier (passengers and other freight). By early 1891, he extended the line south-east to connect with the Detroit, Bay City and Alpena Railroad and Great Lakes Shipping docks in Au Sable. In doing so, Potts overextended the company and it failed financially. The troubled Potts Logging Railway and its parent, J.E. Potts Lumber and Salt Company was purchased by the H.M. Loud Lumber Company on July 17th, 1891. Henry M. Loud reorganized the railroad as the Au Sable and Northwestern Railroad.
A fire at the railroad shops in McKinley in 1900 prompted the railroad to move its headquarters to Commins, several miles north. With the construction of the new North Branch, and timber tapped out along older branches, the original line to McKinley was abandoned in 1907.
Comins area of the AS&NW
The 1911 fire in Oscoda and Au Sable all but wiped out the lumber company. On June 1st, 1912, the Detroit and Mackinac Railway leased the AS&NW with the option to purchase. The option was exercised on June 1, 1914. The D&M had an interest in havesting remaining lumber, but also used the railroad to haul construction equipment and materials to several hydro-electric dam sites along the river. In late 1915 and early 1916, the D&M converted the main line to Commins and a branch to Curran from narrow to standard gauge (4' 8 1/2" between the rails). An anticipating influx of farmers and settlers following the timber harvest did not materialize, largely due to World War I. The railroad suffered over time and in 1927, the D&M finally abandoned what had become their Au Sable River Branch which ran from Oscoda to Comins.
Cache:
The cache is a three stage multi with the first two stages being virtual and known. Solve the field puzzle below using information fromt he first two stages to find the coordinates for the final.
- Step 1: At the posted coordinates, you are standing on the north side of a caboose painted for the Detroit & Mackinac. It is actually a Grand Trunk Western caboose, but that is beside the point. Part of the information needed for the final coordinates comes from the caboose:
- B = Second digit of the caboose number (5B139).
- E = Third digit of the year the caboose was built (BLT xxEx).
- F = Design date of the trucks (wheel frame) on caboose (xx-xx AAR-x-Fx).
- Step 2: Proceed to the stage 2 waypoint (on the south side of the caboose). You should be standing near a monument to a favorite son of Comins. The inscription is worth the read. with a name in white letters and some other information. Using that information, solve the following simple puzzle:
- A = Last digit of the year the statue was sculpted by Joseph Donna.
- C = Last digit of the year Mr. Stutesman died.
- D = Second digit of the day in March that Mr. Stutesman was born.
- Step 3: Insert the information from the first two stages into the partial coordinate below:
- Insert the results into N44° 48.ABC' W84° 02.DEF' and create a new waypoint. Park at the coordinates in the township park and walk to the final.
- Check your solution
To claim a prize:
- Download and print the Ticket to Au Sable (PDF).
- As an aide, download and print the RAAS Recommended Route Map (PDF).
- Find at least 46 of the 57 (80%) cache hides in the table below.
- Find at least seven of the ten mystery and multi caches, in any combination.
- Record the milepost value from each cache you find on this form. Milepost numbers are on cache labels and log book covers. Do not record the milepost value in your log at geocaching.com or it will be deleted.
- Each individual GC account holder making the find must sign and date the paper log book in the cache with their GC account name. No group logs please.
- Send the completed form via US Mail to the address on the form. Each GC account holder must send in a form. One prize per completed form. One prize per GC Account. Multiple forms per mailing is encouraged.
Once your answers have been verified, the prize will be sent back to you via US Mail to the address you provide on the form, while supplies last. One hundred prizes have been minted..
Resources:
Sources:
Many thanks to the hard work and research performed by Mr. Graydon Meints, which would have taken years to do on my own.
Also, thanks to Charles Conn for allowing the use of his collection of photographs at the Clarke Historical Library, and thanks to the Library staff for their help.
Also, thanks to James S. Hannum, Michigan and Washington railroad author, for sharing research, opinions and guidance along the right of way.
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