Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

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PIONEER HISTORY OF INGHAM COUNTY

burg, 12 miles, Nov., 1860, and later to Bath, a distance of 20
miles, Dec. 25, the same year. (Some Christmas present for
Bath.) In January, 1862, the road was completed to within two
miles of Lansing; to Lansing, November, 1862, and to Michigan
ave., Lansing, August 25, 1863, a distance of 28 miles."
The deposition goes on to state that practically nothing had
been done to extend the road north of Owosso except to cut some
brush on the right of way. South of Lansing (for the Amboy,
Lansing & Traverse Bay from Owosso to Lansing was only part
of a big plan), a little grading was done, a very little, toward Eaton
Rapids, 19 miles away.
The rolling stock, according to the deposition, was first that belonging to Amos Gould and B. O. Williams and later the cars of
the Detroit & Milwaukee.
Now let the story be told by the old State Republican. William
P. Innes, who used to be designated as engineer and superintendent, used to give out the news to the press in those days.
Under the heading, "Progress on the Ram's Horn," the State
Republican, Jan. 8, 1862, says: "The cars are now running
across the big marsh to the deep cut, some four miles from town."
FREIGHT RATES LIVE ISSUE.
Feb. 19, 1862, there was some reference in the paper to the discussion of freight rates, indicating that the subject was a live one
here.
March 5, 1862, the State Republican says: "The track is now
laid within a mile and a half of the first ward, and the company
having placed a powerful locomotive on the road the past week,
our eastern mail gets in by 5 o'clock. The connections will undoubtedly be made with regularity hereafter and the road become
what it has only promised, a convenience and a great public
benefit."
Would that we had a picture of that "powerful locomotive"oh, the newspaper tribe "flossed up" their story, even in those
days. Somehow, reading between the lines, one gets the notion
of hopes long deferred in that phrase, "and the road become what
it has hitherto only promised."
The State Republican continues through the spring and summer. It says, April 2: "Ram's Horn Railroad: It is stated for