Adapted from his book Good Harbor Michigan with additional information from the Grand Traverse Herald The settlement of Leelanau by Euro-Americans began as early as the late 1830s but their flow rapidly increased after 1855. Traverse City was growing even more rapidly and the Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad arrived there on November 15, 1872. Almost immediately there was talk and excitement about a train in Leelanau. The talks got serious in January 1885 when a group of businessmen discussed the possibility of a narrow gauge railroad between Maple City and Good Harbor, according to the Leelanau Enterprise.
When I first read about this possible railroad I was quite surprised and excited as I had never heard of such discussion or possibility. As I read more and more about it I realized the train could have cut through the Bufka farm. What would have been the implications of that I wondered.
The reporting in the Leelanau Enterprise was exciting but written from a Good Harbor viewpoint. The Grand Traverse Herald reported it a little differently.
