Michigan Central Railroad Gardens

Michigan Central Railroad Gardens (HM1Y95)

Location: Ypsilanti, MI 48198 Washtenaw County
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Country: United States of America
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N 42° 14.768', W 83° 36.595'

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Inscription

8 Oak Street

The triangular plot of land along River Street was originally called "Cass Plat" in honor of Governor Lewis Cass. It later became a children's playground.

The Ypsilanti Depot Gardens were the pride of the Central Railroad Line. Mr. John Laidlaw, a Scottish gardener, built huge floral displays depicting the battleship "Maine" and the "Niagara Falls." Mr. Laidlaw kept his greenhouses full of tropical plants and flowers. The exotic shrubs and trees helped to distract rail passengers from the view of the stockyards which were just north of the Depot. The gardens were primarily used to supply the dining cars with fresh flowers each day.

Oral history has it that young girls like Jessie Swaine and Florence Babbitt picked the flowers and delivered them to railroad passengers. One bouquet from the gardens was presented to a relative of Ypsilanti's namesake, Demetrius Ypsilanti who was enroute from Chicago to Detroit.

Also...
In Michigan: In 1848, legislators met in the new capitol building in Lansing for the first time.

American Events The Transcontinental Railroad linked the East and West coasts at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869. The single telegraphed word "Done!" signaled to the nation its completion. Eight to ten thousand Irish, German and Italian immigrants pushing
west from Omaha, Nebraska met crews of the Central Pacific, ten thousand Chinese laborers, who had built east from Sacramento, California.

Donated by Carolyn and Gary McKeever - 1998
Details
HM NumberHM1Y95
Tags
Year Placed1998
Placed ByDepot Town Association
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, May 11th, 2017 at 9:03am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)17T E 284680 N 4680403
Decimal Degrees42.24613333, -83.60991667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 42° 14.768', W 83° 36.595'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds42° 14' 46.08" N, 83° 36' 35.7" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)734
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 29 E Cross St, Ypsilanti MI 48198, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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