My newest book scheduled for release is coming out on August 25,2026. The new title is: ‘Crime & Corruption on the Michigan Railroad: Stories from the Victorian Era’ and it is published by the History Press through Arcadia Publishing.
This new collection covers stories from the early days of the railroad in Michigan when companies were gaining power with their growth and expansion across the state, and anyone who opposed their methods could be crushed by the corrupt system. Such is the case in the very first story of the book which occured during the early days of the Michigan Central Railroad as the juggernaut company introduced bigger and fast locomotives on established lines, resulting in destruction of livestock that crossed its path.
Farmers retaliated when their cries for compensation and justice from their losses were defeated time and again in the corrupt legal system. Events culminated in 1850, when a grand jury indicted fifty men in Leoni Township in Jackson County for conspiracy to commit arson after a freight depot in Detroit was set ablaze. This case became known as the ‘Great Railroad Conspiracy’ which lasted for months in the court system in Detroit, and ultimately sent twelve men to prison who were later pardoned. This case let to the popular phrase ‘Leoni Against the World!’ as the community rallied to clear the name of their neighbors accused in the conspiracy trial who were never allowed to testify on their own behalf.
Other stories include when two Grand Trunk locomotives collided in Battle Creek in 1893, killing twenty-seven people, a conductor and an engineer each accused the other, avoiding conviction. A Mineral Range train robbery of $70,000 in payroll money destined for miners on the Keweenaw Peninsula was exposed by a former railroad worker involved in the heist, allowing him to escape prosecution and sending four others to prison.
The book is filled with stories of tragedy, robbery, arson, embezzlement, corruption and murder that offers a dark slice of Victorian Era history that has long been forgotten. The book is now available for pre-order here.