What Two Michigan Towns Were Named After One Famous Author?

The Michigan U.P. Towns of Rudyard and Kipling didn't happen by accident. They were named by Fred D. Underwood, then-vice president of the Soo Line Railroad, who was an admirer of author Rudyard Kipling.

(For those who need a refresher course, some of Rudyard Kipling's best-known works include The Jungle Book, Kim, and Captains Courageous, just a few of his more than 1,000 stories, books, and poems.)

The town of Rudyard is in Chippewa County's Rudyard Township. An unincorporated community, it was originally called “Pine River”. When a depot was established in 1890, it was decided to re-name the town, due to the existence of other Michigan communities named 'Pine River'. The name was changed to 'Rudyard' after Underwood's suggestion. When a post office began operations in 1891, Joseph Glendenning became Rudyard's first postmaster.

A whoppin' 134 miles away from Rudyard is Kipling, in Brampton Township, Delta County. It originated in 1885 when the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company built a charcoal iron furnace on Bay de Noc. When the Soo Line came through in 1887, Underwood completed his tribute to his favorite author by naming this town 'Kipling'. A post office opened in 1903 with Orville Norton as postmaster and lasted until September 30, 1935.

These two destinations makes a good beginning and end to a UP roadtrip.....lotsa stuff to see along the way!