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The Michigan Central Freight House at Ypsilanti, MI is located in Depot Town and is currently not in use. The Ypsilanti Freight House is listed as one of the approximate 500 contributing structures to the City of Ypsilanti’s Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and 1989.

Introduction
<<The Ypsilanti Freight house, as part of the Michigan Central Railroad complex, played a vital role in the growth and development of the City of Ypsilanti and all of southeastern Michigan. The Michigan Central Railroad (MCRR) completed its first major railroad line in the State from Detroit to Ypsilanti in January 1838, with the first train arriving on February 8. Ypsilanti was founded in 1823 on the Huron River, which provided an abundant source of waterpower. It was the second incorporated village in Michigan and was selected as the terminus of this first rail line because the MCRR, as it pushed therailroad west toward Chicago, viewed it as a location with great potential for growth.>>

The City of Ypsilanti and other areas of southeastern Michigan benefited greatly when the freight house was founded. The freight House was built along the Michigan Central Railroad complex because Ypsilanti was viewed as an excellent location while the railroad was pushing toward Chicago.

<<Prior to the railroad, interior mobility and trade in Southeastern Michigan had dependedupon the Sauk Trail, or â€œChicago Road,â€ which today is known as U.S. Route 12. The coming of the railroad to Ypsilanti made access into the farmlands of Michiganâ€™s frontier easier for the entire area. Similarly, flour mills, saw mills and various industries along the railroad could then ship goods across the country and abroad. By the time of the Civil War, Ypsilanti was connected to an elaborate transportation system that sent goods to large ports such as Toronto, Quebec, New York and Boston. The railroad continued as Washtenaw Countyâ€™s primary transportation infrastructure until after World War II.>>

<<Traveling by railroad was so popular in Michigan that within the first year nearly 200 passengers were transported daily from Detroit to Ypsilanti. The structures from this early period of railroading in Ypsilanti included a wooden passenger station, freighthouse, and a large woodshed that housed locomotive fuel. The increased commercial traffic allowed several businesses to flourish in the immediate vicinity of the Michigan Railroad complex. Most notably was the Follett Hotel, built in 1859 by Benjamin Follett, who was involved in the construction of the new brick depot in 1863.>>