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DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac Area History Museum’s Spring Lecture Series continues on Wednesday, May 3 at 6 p.m. with the program Riding the Rails: Traces of the North Berrien Interurban, by Peter Cook of the North Berrien Historical Museum. 

Beginning in 1910, an interurban railway ran hourly electric trains (trolleys) from Benton Harbor through Millburg to Coloma. In 1913 it was extended east to Watervliet. During the summer months, a spur carried vacationers, many from Chicago, on to Paw Paw Lake resorts. Each evening, the railway carried fruit from the area to Benton Harbor to be shipped to Chicago. This interurban line ran until 1928.
Peter Cook, the Director of Programs & Outreach at the North Berrien Historical Museum in Coloma, will discuss how the interurban was established and the influence it had on the culture of local tourism. His presentation will also follow the route the interurban travelled, illustrated by photographs and stories.

The Spring Lecture Series concludes on June 7 with the program Historic Homes of Dowagiac by Eileen Crouse, one of the organizers of the Historic Homes and Gardens Tour of Dowagiac that will take place on June 24. 

The program is free to museum members and $5 for non-members. Children under 18 are admitted free. Membership will be available at the museum. The museum is at the corner of Division and West Railroad streets. For more information, call the museum at 783-2560 or visit www.dowagiacmuseum.info.