The Manistee Railroad was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad

Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad

The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the U.S. state of Michigan between 1857 and 1899. It was one of the three companies which merged to become the Pere Marquette Railway.-Early history:...

 (F&PM). It was established on June 19, 1880, to construct a branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 from the F&PM's main line (Ludington

Ludington, Michigan

Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...

–Monroe

Monroe, Michigan

Monroe is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 20,733 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but both are politically independent. The city is located approximately 14 miles ...

) at Walhalla to Manistee

Manistee, Michigan

Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the county seat of Manistee County. The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county. The derivation is not certain, but it may be from...

. The completion of this line in 1883 gave the F&PM access to Manistee's lake trade and local salt mining operations. The Manistee Railroad was consolidated with the F&PM on January 30, 1889.