During the 1850s, the state of Michigan and the nation experienced a plank road craze. As towns and cities grew and developed, so grew the necessity for reliable routes between commercial centers. In Michigan in the 1840s and 1850s, Governor Ransom believed that the development of plank roads could boost local labor markets and mend an economy that was ruined by the Panic of 1837. The state had been unable to provide an adequate system of roads as growing numbers of settlers arrived. Subsequently, the responsibility fell to private companies, and over 200 charters were granted in Michigan for the development of privately owned plank roads. Local farmers and manufacturers were eager to invest in these roads which would help them reach the state's commercial centers. Michigan was one of the first states to build plank roads, which aided greatly in the settlement and development of the state, and later the development of Michigan's highway system.

Plank roads were more advanced than the “corduroy” roads which preceded them, logs placed across swampy areas which usually “floated,” and in which horses and coaches could easily get stuck. The plank road was an improvement as it was supposed to be sturdy, smooth and permanent. They were built of planks of oak, elm or pine which were 8 to 16 feet long and 3 to 4 inches thick, nailed across “stringers” which ran parallel to the road.

In 1848 the State Legislature passed a general Plank Road Law which stated that a company no longer needed a special charter to build a road, only that they had to follow certain specifications in its construction. The state also regulated the tolls that a private road could charge. Initially they proved a great improvement from dirt roads, which could turn into “rivers of mud” and were impassable much of the year. Eventually however, the condition of plank roads dwindled, and as railroads came to completion in the 1870s, the cost of maintenance matched with the competition of the trains proved too much for the plank road companies. Many ceased operating the roads, some were covered with gravel.

In Grand Rapids there were seven companies that owned and operated toll roads. Alpine, Grandville, Plainfield, Reeds Lake, Bridge, Canal, Division and Walker streets were all once plank roads. The Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Plank Road Company spent $70,000 completing a road between the two commercial centers, and coaches began using it in 1855. It was $2.50 for passengers to make the 48 mile coach trip, which began at the Eagle Tavern on Market Ave and took them through the wilderness all the way to Kalamazoo. The road followed modern day Division Avenue and “Old 131.” Although at its dawn it was seen as a great improvement over the preceding dirt road, it was a joke by the 1860s. Planks were warped and pried up, making the journey extremely bumpy and hazardous for teams of horses or oxen. In 1870, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Rail Road completed their line, which also functioned to end the heyday of the plank road. But the rapid growth of Grand Rapids and local farming communities, many of which experienced great prosperity in a short number of years, can be attributed to this road.

In the early 1980s, Marty Arnold took an interest in the history of the plank road. Originally from Kalamazoo, she grew up hearing stories about it since both sets of her great great grandparents had been settlers along the plank. The Goodrich and Stoddard families were neighbors whose children eventually married. Arnold's great great grandfather, Asa Harding Stoddard wrote a well known poem called “Riding On the Plank.” After moving to Grand Rapids, Arnold began researching plank road history and eventually published an article in the Grand Rapids Press “Wonderland” section in 1983. She also prepared a slide presentation for the Grand Rapids Historical Society, and took groups of history buffs on a bus tour along the Old Grand Rapids – Kalamazoo Plank Road. These as well as other items gathered and compiled during her research comprise this collection.