Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad
On April 22, 1833, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was granted a charter by the Legislature of the Territory of Michigan and was built and in operation a year before Michigan was a state. It was to connect Toledo (then called Port Lawrence and considered to be in Michigan) with the Kalamazoo River.
By November 2, 1836, cars drawn by two horses hitched tandem and changed every 4 miles made regular trips from Port Lawrence to Adrian. Early in July, 1837 the Adrian No. 1, a steam locomotive, began the run. This was the first railroad and the first steam locomotive west of the Alleghany Mountains.
Marker is at the intersection of Brown Street and Lovewell Street, on the left when traveling east on Brown Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
