St. Joseph Valley Rail Road (1848-1869)

The St. Joseph Valley Rail Road is a defunct railroad which operated in southern Michigan during the mid-19th century.

The company was chartered on April 3, 1848, following authorization by an act of the Michigan State Legislature; the bill called for a line from St. Joseph, on the coast of Lake Michigan in Berrien County east through Cassopolis (Cass County) into St. Joseph County. The act stipulated that the company had ten years from the passage of the act to complete its line, a distance of about convert|50|mi|km, or its "rights, privileges and powers [as a corporation] shall be null and void, so far as it regards such part of said rail road as shall not be finished within the periods limited by this act." [Michigan (1848), 278-292.]

In 1855 the company completed a line along the St. Joseph River from Constantine to Three Rivers, a distance of convert|7.5|mi|km, well short of the act's target. The company had difficulty moving forward, but the legislature obliglingly extended the deadline in 1861 and again in 1863. On November 21, 1864, the St. Joseph Valley leased the convert|3.9|mi|km|adj=on section of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana which connected White Pigeon to Constantine, giving the St. Joseph Valley an uninterrupted running length of some convert|11.4|mi|km but still well short of Cassopolis, let alone Berrien County. In 1865 a new act by the Michigan State Legislature authorized the Schoolcraft & Three Rivers to purchase the St. Joseph Valley Railroad, but this did not take place until August 14, 1869, at which point the St. Joseph Valley ceased to exist as an independent company. [Michigan Legislature (1865), 1432; Meints (1992), 137; Meints (2005), 246.] In the meantime the St. Joseph Valley operated over the Schoolcraft & Three Rivers tracks into Kalamazoo, where it connected with numerous other lines. [Michigan (1870), 195.]

The St. Joseph's original stretch from Constantine to Three Rivers is today operated by the Norfolk Southern. [Meints (2005), 246.]

Notes

References

*cite book| title=Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies| first=Graydon M.| last=Meints| year=1992| publisher=Michigan State University Press| location=East Lansing, Michigan| isbn=0870133187
*cite book| title=Michigan Railroad Lines| first=Graydon M.| last=Meints| publisher=Michigan State University Press| year=2005| location=East Lansing
*cite book| title=Joint Documents | author=Michigan | year=1870 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=g6E4AAAAMAAJ
*cite book| title=Public and Local Acts of the Legislature of the State of Michigan | author=Michigan | year=1848 | publisher=W.S. George | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kFQyAAAAIAAJ
*cite book| title=Journal | author=Michigan Legislature: House of Representatives | year=1865 | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SqM4AAAAMAAJ