Roughly a century ago, Turkish forces ethnically cleansed Greeks from ancient Ionia and its capital of Smyrna — a homeland of Greek peoples for millennia.

Source: https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/opinion-columns/victor-davis-hanson/victor-davis-hanson-squeezing-the-worlds-vulnerable-peoples-2938095/

The first improved section with metal rails reached the city in 1857 and was completed the following year, connecting Ionia to the “Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee division” of the Grand Trunk system.

Source: https://www.thedailynews.cc/articles/a-look-back-at-the-early-history-of-ionia/