Rudyard, MI: Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie (SOO) Depot

(Satellite)

This is the original SOO railroad, which I label Wisconsin Central to distinguish it from the later SOO.

I love St. Ignace! posted

And so there was Rudyard, Michigan.

Mr. F. D. Underwood, president of the Erie Railroad had named two stations, Rudyard and Kipling, when he had been general manager of the Soo Line, as he liked the work of the writer Rudyard Kipling.

Upon learning of the honor, Rudyard Kipling wrote back to Mr. Underwood with the following poem written on the back of a photograph.

This information is from the Michigan Library Bulletin, Jan-Feb 1924. At that time the poem was in the possession of Addison Wolsey Bronson, a book collector.

KIPLING'S MICHIGAN TWINS

"Wise is the child who knows his sire"

The ancient proverb ran

But wiser far the man who knows

How, where and when his offspring grows

For who the mischief would suppose

I've sons in Michigan?

Yet am I saved from midnight ills

That warp the soul of man

They do not make me walk the floor

Nor hammer on the doctor's door

They deal in wheat and iron-ore

My sons in Michigan

Oh! Tourist in the Pullman car

(By Cook's or Raymond's plan)

Forgive a parent's partial view

But may be you have children too

So let me introduce to you

My sons in Michigan

(Clyde Hendrickson)

Life is easier when a topo map depicts the location of the depot.

1953 Rudyard Quad @ 24,000

Durand Union Station-Michigan Railroad History Museum posted two photos with the comment:

Today’s featured depot is the Soo Line station in Rudyard 🚂

Rudyard, located in Chippewa County, was settled about 1883. The area was originally named Pine River, but was changed to Rudyard in 1890 - the same year the new depot (bottom image) was built. The settlement was along the Soo Line’s main line, approximately 23 miles southwest of Sault Ste. Marie. 

The two story wood depot (top image) was an older station built in Rudyard, prior to 1890. 

Unfortunately, neither of these depots exist anymore. 

Top Image:

Hendrickson, Clyde [Rudyard Michigan Hometown], photo. “The Rudyard Depot in 1910. (edited)”. Facebook. 01 February 2024, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1D1hiom1Y7/. 

Bottom Image:

Whiipp, Charlie. Soo Line depot in Rudyard [photo]. 1976. Michigan Railroads,  Michigan Railroad History | RRHX. http://www.michiganrailroads.com/.../81.../648-rudyard-mi. Accessed 14 July 2026.

Jim Donahue: BTW Rudyard, like another UP Town named Kipling was apparently named by the SOO Line President as the railroad was building out into the wilderness. The President, like Mark Twain, loved Rudyard Kipling's books!

Jim Donahue: I believe Mark Twain once wrote that "between Rudyard Kipling and myself, we cover all knowledge. Mr. Kipling knows all that can be known, and I know all the rest".

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