GRAND RAPIDS, MI – On the morning of July 26, 1883, over 600,000 logs broke loose, rushing through the Grand River and tearing out every railroad bridge in Grand Rapids.
It all started two weeks prior.
Heavy rains in June and July 1883 brought water levels on the river to record highs and overwhelmed lumbering booms (river enclosures used to sort and organize logs) for transport to saw mills in Lowell, Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Robinson townships…