Grand Trunk Railway moved its shops to Battle Creek in 1908 after fire destroyed the old shops at Fort Gratiot, north of Port Huron. The railroad chose Battle Creek for its location — roughly equidistant between Port Huron and Chicago. The shops were responsible for all major work on locomotives between the two cities. With the shops came nearly 400 new families, and the city plotted the Brownlee Park area to accommodate them. Enquirer and News columnist Amy South wrote on March 31, 1974, that "the streets in that area were named for Grand Trunk officials."