Au Train

Located on M-28 in Alger County, AuTrain was the original county seat for Alger County.    

AuTrain, a French term meaning "at the shortcut or traverse" was one of the earliest sites visited by white man as they traveled along Lake Superior's south shore. The river was part of an ancient Indian route between Lakes Superior and Michigan, the region itself known as the Land of Hiawatha.

One of Alger County's oldest settlements, AuTrain was first inhabited by white men in 1856 when William Cameron began hunting and trapping here. 

Logging had began along the Au Train River in 1861.  Royal Whittlesey built a sawmill in 1862 and logging of Norway pine for dock pilings was begun in earnest. Later, choice white pine was hewed into squared timbers for shipment to England.  The AuTrain River and its tributaries were filled with the big logs bound for mills in Lower Michigan, Rock River, Marquette, and later, to Munising.  By 1873 the Sault Ste. Marie and Grand Island State Road Extension was completed to the village.

The population of AuTrain had a big increase in 1877 when a number of families moved from Bay Furnace near Munising when that iron-making community was destroyed by fire. Among the new residents were the Movans, Doucettes, Larmonds, Carriers and Reffruschinn's, who built small shingled cabins where the Alger-Smith Company had begun lumbering operations.  In time, the town consisted of thirty homes, one blacksmith shop, a bay furnace, another sawmill and a government lighthouse.  

The Detroit, Mackinac & Marquette Railroad reached the village in 1881.  A school was built shortly thereafter which also served as the social, political and religious center of the community. In 1883 a post office was established.

A high point in AuTrain's history came in 1885 when the northern part of Schoolcraft County was organized as Alger County, with AuTrain becoming the county seat. The next year, a town site was platted and a shingle mill was built. A business district typical of a county seat and sawmill town soon developed. There were several stores, two hotels, saloons and the AuTrain Alpha--the county's first newspaper.

Commercial fishing became an important industry and the beautiful AuTrain Lake and River attracted a growing number of tourists after advent of the railroad in 1881.

Settlers began homesteads south of the village on AuTrain Lake, the first taken out by Emma Nellson in 1885, with others by Charles Paulson and Alec McKinnon.

The largest logging drive took place in 1887 when 10 million feet of pine logs were floated down the Au Train River.

One of the area's prominent early developers was Charles Schaffer of Marquette who was known as the "Charcoal King" because of his extensive activities throughout the region in the manufacture of charcoal for iron making. He platted the village and donated land for the courthouse and cemetery.

Brownstone was quarried four miles west for building purposes, and it was used in construction of the county's first jail in 1890.

After the turn-of-the-century, the Standard Tie Company began extensive logging operations in the area, but by 1919, the last logs were boomed on the AuTrain River, ending a colorful era.

In 1902, the county seat was moved to Munising, which was rapidly becoming the county's industrial and commercial center.

During its history, AuTrain was an important transit and stopover point for both Indians and white men, a sawmill town, county seat, commercial fishing port and resort center.  Tourism and recreation now give the village its livelihood.