For $198,500, you could own an old Michigan railroad depot and save some Up North history

Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read
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A century-old depot in East Jordan — a quaint city on Lake Charlevoix that recently has been emerging as an Up North vacation destination — is for sale.

It received some social media attention after Brienna Roberts, a native Michigander and real estate agent from nearby Boyne City, visited the depot and posted some photos of it. She’s not the agent selling this bit of Michigan history. But, she said, she and her husband were thinking of buying it.

"It's a cool building," she said, adding that her posts of it have "kinda blown up."

The agent who is selling the long, 4,200-square-foot building, Lee Symonds, said he doesn't know too much about its history. It appears to have been built at the beginning of the 1900s, a time when train travel was essential to Michigan, and it sits on 5 acres near the Jordan River estuary.

An aerial view a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.
An aerial view a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.

The property owner, he said, didn't know much about its history, either.

Century-old structure

A Michigan couple bought the depot a few years ago. And in some ways, the building is frozen in time. The sign on the building that says: "E.J. & Southern R.R. Co. Est. 1901" is still on it. E.J. stands for East Jordan. And inside is a bunch of stuff that the owners just left behind.

The husband used the building as an office. But he died.

The widow remarried, moved to New Jersey and no longer needs the property.

Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.
Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.

For years, East Jordan was better known as the headquarters of the company that made Detroit's manhole covers. And railroads — once vital to developing Michigan's population, commerce and industry — played a huge role in the state's history.

Gradually, however, as the nation’s road system developed and improved, the use of automobiles and trucks replaced rail travel, and thousands of miles of track — and numerous old train depots — in the state have declined and been abandoned.

More:Driver blinded by morning sun survives Downriver train crash

More:Transformed Michigan Central Station to include hotel rooms, massive wedding space

Symonds said the rail line outside the East Jordan depot has long been removed, although the path is there, and the building still has charm, despite it being more than 100 years old and in need of considerable rehabilitation and restoration.

"There are several in the community that would like to save it," Symonds said. "I would like to save it."

A locomotive and coal car that would have passed by the train depot, is now on display nearby at Sportsman's Park in East Jordan. The depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.
A locomotive and coal car that would have passed by the train depot, is now on display nearby at Sportsman's Park in East Jordan. The depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.

But no one, he added, has stepped up — yet.

The locomotive and coal car that used to steam by the depot is on public display in the nearby Sportsman's Park.

'A neat opportunity'

Roberts said she wanted to check out the depot, in part, because she and her husband are "curious people by nature," and live not far from it, maybe a 10-minute drive. She said that even though she's an agent she didn't know it was for sale, but he somehow did.

After looking at the building, she told the Free Press she decided it's too big of a project for her. The building is in bad shape, she said, and will take some doing, and investment, to restore it to its former glory or, at least, a condition that would generate income.

Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.
Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.

East Jordan, Roberts said, is an up-and-coming community, and "people now want to be up here."

Think: A smaller, Up North version of Ford's Michigan Central Station? Offices, maybe? Or a banquet space? Perhaps even a railroad-themed bar and grill that taps into East Jordan's potential as an Up North getaway and the nostalgia and romance of Michigan's wilder, frontier days.

"I've been in Michigan my whole life," Roberts said. "When people post buildings that are falling down or old farms, I just think it's neat, so I posted this. Of course, for disclosure, don't go snooping around this property."

She noted that the depot "has all the old windows and the ticket booth."

Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.
Views of a century-old, 4,200-square-foot train depot along with five acres at 204 Depot St., East Jordan, an Up North city. The property is now for sale.

"It's a neat opportunity," Roberts added. She said she can see the potential for someone else to give it new life as a commercial or rental property. "I mean, people are always thinking outside the box. I wouldn't limit the potential of that place," she said.

East Jordan train depot

  • Where:  204 Depot St., East Jordan

  • How much: $198,500

  • Square feet:  4,200

  • Key features: It has four offices, a waiting room, a cargo area, and an old weight scale.

  • Contact: Lee Symonds, Real Estate One, 231-675-8010.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 100-year-old Up North train depot could be yours for under $200,000