Huron Valley Railroad

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Historical Site

Our clubhouse, the Dexter depot, is a registered Michigan historic site. The sign pictured reads:

The Michigan Central Railroad reached Dexter from Detroit on July 4, 1841, just after Dexter's first depot was completed. Frederick H. Spier of Detroit designed the present depot, which was completed in record time. Work began on November 6, 1886, and at noon on January 19, 1887, the station opened. The plantings for the grounds came from the railroad greenhouses at Niles and Ypsilanti. The depot had two waiting rooms, a ticket office and a baggage room. Passenger service ended at the Dexter depot in 1953​

Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State
Registered local site no. 1303
Property of the State of Michigan, 1987
Kinnear Track Pans

The Kinnear track pans, once located near our depot, are also a registered Michigan historic site. The sign pictured reads:​

Kinnear, located two miles east of Dexter, was the site of Michigan's first railroad track water pans, which were built in 1901. The pans were situated between the rails and heated during cold weather. Steam locomotives scooped up the water as they moved over the pans. The Kinnear pans and telegraph station were named after Wilson S. Kinnear, chief engineer of the Detroit River railroad tunnel. In 1913 the pans were dismantled and moved to Four Mile Lake between Dexter and Chelsea.​

Bureau of History, Michigan Department of State
Registered local site no. 1303
Property of the State of Michigan, 1987​

Also pictured, a westbound Michigan Central passenger train takes up water while traveling 60 miles per hour at the Kinnear track pans in 1907. Eventually, there were four sets of track pans on the Michigan Central main line - Four Mile Lake (Chelsea), Marshall, Lawton and Avery (between Galien and Three Oaks). Picture from the Huron Valley Railroad Historical Society archives.
Thanks to Our Donors
If you're interested in donating model train items,
please send us a message​
Donated items are sorted, cleaned, and offered for sale at the Annual Train Show. All proceeds go to the Huron Valley Railroad Historical Society [501 (c)(3)] to support the preservation and upkeep of the Dexter Depot