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Lots of specialty stores were opening up in Ann Arbor in the 1830s. John White’s rifle shop and an Irish clothing store provided citizens with “ready-made” goods. With a new railroad, goods would be able to get to town in a new super-fast way!
Take a look at the photograph to the right. How many kinds of goods does this store sell?
In addition to bringing new materials into Ann Arbor, the new railroads helped ship goods out. While Ann Arbor shipped in coal, oil, concrete, meat and other foods, they shipped out ice grain, wool, lumber, and dairy products to sell in the towns around them. Going back to Caleb Clark’s letter from 1841, he wrote:
"I can hardly believe when I look out over the broad and beautiful fields covered with orchards with waving grain, with herds and flocks, that I am in a country which has been settled only 12 or 15 years but so it is. The whole has sprung up as if by enchantment and this, my friend, is one among many of the pleasures of a new country. Everything is excitement and energy and go ahead!"
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But remember those angry farmers! Not everyone was so happy. In addition to the noise and smoke that some of the farmers didn’t like, there were some other downsides - probably the most serious were railroad accidents. Luckily, this was a freight car - not a passenger car - but it was a big event here in town.
Just to think about: