USA > Wisconsin > An illustrated history of the state of Wisconsin : being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875 > Part 50
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In the internal improvements of the county are seen abundant indications of the enterprise, good taste, and pros- perity of our citizens. The roads in all parts of the county are good. A large number of first-class farmhouses and private residences are seen everywhere. The schools are good, schoolhouses neat and attractive; the church-edifices are numerous, and are respectable in size and appearance; the county buildings are large, convenient, and well adapted to the purposes for which they are de- signed. "At Wyocena, the county has erected, as an adjunct to the poor-house, an asylum for those insane persons for whom the State has not made sufficient provision. The building is of brick, cost six thousand dollars, and will ac- commodate thirty patients: it is well patronized, and is one of the most benefi- cent institutions of the county.
The population of the county is about
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thirty thousand, and is made up of set- | the same localities. Through this county, tiers from all parts of the Union and the near its centre, runs a divide, which separates the valley of the Mississippi from those of the Wisconsin and Kicka- poo Rivers; and from this, at right an- gles with it, are alternations of ridge and valley, the former generally wood- ed; while in the vales are fertile lands, valuable forests, prairie meadows, and good water-powers on never-failing streams. Old World. Those from New England and New York predominate. To suin up, we regard Columbia County as one of the model counties of the State, both considering its geographical position, its physical features, its agricultural, so- cial, and financial advantages, and the intelligence and enterprise of its inhab- itants.
Portage City, the county-seat of Co- lumbia County, is located on the bluff adjoining a narrow neck of low land which divides the Fox River from the Wisconsin. This neck is less than two miles wide ; and hence, as the two rivers are navigable from a short distance below, - the one to the Great Lakes, and the other to the Gulf of Mexico, -and as both flow through highly fertile districts, it is quite in the course of nature that this short and practical portage should have been regarded, from its earliest discov- ery to the present time, as a very im- portant affair, and sufficient to give name to the city that was founded upon it. The city is spread over a large area, the centre of which is nearly a mile sonth of the railroad station, occupying an elevated site on sandy ground. The town presents a very attractive aspect from the railroad; the old town on the marsh being hidden from view, and the portion in sight being almost new, and the fine court-house, schoolhouses, and other large buildings of creain-col- ored brick showing very conspicnous. The business-blocks are large and com- modions; and the manufacturing inter- est has not been neglected. It has one flouring-mill, two tanneries, two foun- deries, three wagon and carriage shops, pottery, fanning-mill factory, and sev- eral breweries. The railroad from Mad- ison north to Portage City, forty miles, was opened in January, 1871.
The business of the place has been very large, particularly in lumber; and its prospects in a business point of view are very encouraging.
Population, 1875, 4,337.
CRAWFORD COUNTY.1 - Among the striking physical features of this county are the towering binffs, which often rise to the height of from four to six hundred feet, and which present their bold, rocky fronts on the whole line of river bound- ary, as well as along either bank of the principal streams. The bottom-lands Iving at the foot of these bluffs are very fertile; and the soil, which is a light, sandy loam, is of great value for the production of garden vegetables of every description, which come to maturity much sooner than on the high lands in
1 This sketch is compiled from the Report of the Commissioner of Immigration for 1873.
Agriculture and trade have hitherto been the pursuits of the people, to the almost entire neglect of manufactures; the census of 1870 showing an aggregate of farm production of $823,000, while the product of our manufactures was but $240,000. But, during the past year, the people have awakened to the importance of manufactures, to all other branches of industry; and henceforth the hammer. loom, and anvil are to have their devo- tees, as well as the plough. In the line of public improvement are excellent roads and good schoolhouses, so numerous, that every child enjoys the privilege of a good common school education. The Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway ex- tends along the southern line of the county for a distance of twenty miles. Bridgeport is one of the principal ship- ping-points on the road for grain and live-stock; while at Prairie du Chien the company have one of the largest freight- depots in the State, a grain-elevator with a capacity of two hundred and fifty thousand bushels, and from which two hundred and seveurty-five cars have been loaded with wheat in a single day. The company have here large car-works, a good passenger-depot, and, near this, one of the finest hotels in the West. The business of the company has increased so rapidly under its excellent manage- ment, that it has been compelled to erect a temporary bridge over the Mississippi for the transfer of trains during the win- ter; while in the season of navigation in 1870, three steamers were constantly engaged in the transfer of cars from one shore to the other.
The commerce of the county at this time has an extent and importance which few would imagine who have not examined the figures which show it: and this is not conducted by rail alone; but three organized lines of elegant steamners touch at the river-town, and do not only a large freight, but passen- ger business also. The county is re- markably healthy, is well watered, has heavy forest in every town. In her markets, Inmber and all descriptions of building-material are plenty and cheap. Improved lands may be purchased at froin fifteen to thirty dollars per acre; and nuimproved, from five to ten dol- lars. The public schools are under the charge of good teachers and an efficient county superintendent, and are access
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ible to nearly every child. In Prairie du Chien is a large German school, with an accomplished native teacher; while the Catholics have a large "Sisters'" school, and will soon open another, of a higher grade, in a large and beautiful building, which was erected at a cost of fifty thousand dollars.
The people of Crawford County are intelligent, industrions, wide awake to their interests, and hence are good pa- trons of schools, churches, and the press; and, taken all in all, the county possesses the natural and other advan- tages, which in future will permit her to take a front rank among those which make up the noble Commonwealth of Wisconsin.
DANE COUNTY. - This county is situ- ated near the geographical and commer- cil centre of the State. Madison, the county-seat, and the capital of the State, has one of the most beautiful locations in the world, in the midst of charming lakes. Here is the new Capitol build- ing, which, surrounded by a commodi- ous aud elegant park, presents an im- pressive appearance of taste and beauty; and among the other substantial build- ings are the United States post-office, city-hall, aud the court-house. The State University buildings and university farın occupy au elevated and pleasant site about one mile west of the Capitol. There are thirty-five towns and fourteen villages in the county. Six of the towns are largely settled with Norwegians, and six by Germans; and the American and European nationalities are inore or less represented in all the towns. The county throughout is well watered by lakes and streams, and the soil is generally fer- tile ; lu some parts extensive prairies prevailing, and in others undulating and hilly land. Timber is plentifully interspersed throughout the county. There are numerons churches, of all denominations, throughout the county, also private and public schools. The Milwaukee and St. Paul, the Chicago and North-western, and Madison and Portage Railroads have brought it into direct connection with all parts of the State and country.
Madison, the capital of the State of Wisconsin, and seat of justice of Dane County, is pleasantly situated on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Meuona, eighty miles west of Milwaukee, and one hundred and thirty-two miles north-west of Chicago, iu lat. 43º 5' N .; loug. 89º 20' W. It stands in the centre of a broad valley, surrounded by heights, from which the city can be seen at a distauce of several miles. The isthinns is about three-quarters of a mile in width. Lake Mendota, which lies on the north-west side of the town, is six imles long by four miles wide. It is a beautiful sheet of water, with clean, 1of S. D. Livermore. - C. R. T.
gravelly shores. The depth is sufficient for navigation by steamboats, and is estimated at about sixty feet. Lake Menona is rather smaller. When this place was selected for the seat of gov- ernment, in 1836, it contained no build- ing but a solitary log-cabin. The new Capitol is a beautiful structure, built of stone, at an expense of five hundred thousand dollars, standing on ground seventy feet above the level of the lakes, and in the centre of a public park. The streets that lead from the Capitol to- wards the cardinal points descend grad- ually to the shores of the lakes, except- ing the one which extends westward to College Hills. On this eminence, one mile west of the Capitol, and about one hundred and twenty-five feet above the lake, is situated the University of Wis- consin, which was instituted in 1849. Three newspapers are issned here. It contains four banks, about twelve churches, a large nuinber of stores, a woollen factory, and several steam-mills. It is also noteworthy for its business advantages, and its healthful position. Situated on elevated ground, amid de- lightful groves and productive lands, well above the cool, clear lakes, it must be healthy; while the abundance and convenience of fine streams and water- power must facilitate a sound and rapid advancement in agriculture and the me- chanic arts. It is frequented by pleas- ure-seekers as a place of summer resort. Railroads radiate from Madison towards the east, west, north, and south, con- necting it with all the principal points. Since its origin, this place has steadily increased. Population in 1840, 376; in 1850, 1,525; in 1853, about 3,500; in 1860, 6,611; and 1875, 10,093.
DODGE COUNTY. 1-This county is trav- ersed by both the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, and the Chicago and North - western Railway; the former running both its northern and La Crosse divisions through it. Thirteen of the twenty-two towns of the county are on lines of railroad.
The soll is good, being of clay loam, and all occupied. Is used mostly for farming-purposes. Its agricultural prod- ucts are equal in value to any other county in the State. It is the third county in the State in population, har- ing, in 1870, 47,035 inhabitants. The assessed valuation of the county makes it the fifth in the State in wealth, although in extent of land it is the seveuth. In the county are villages equal In number to the towns, with a diversity of interests and business, most of them of sufficient capacity to main- taiu an increased population. While the county is generally known as an agri-
1 This sketch is compiled from the sketch
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cultural one, manufacturing and milling | three-quarters of a mlle wide; is beau- are important, growing, and thriving in- tifully situated, clear and deep, and is a favorite resort for pleasure- partles. Mud Lake is located in the towns of Lowell and Shields. It is about five milles long, with marshy borders. The general health of the county Is excel- lent. Localities are afforded to suit any one, - the north-eastern portion for its iron mines, and the balance for agricul- tural purposes. dustries within its borders, comprising woollen factories, manufactories of agri- cultural implements, flonring-mills, and iron works. These are all permanently established. Stock-raising is being large- ly lutroduced; and the establishment of various cheese-factories renders it a de- sirable and profitable auxiliary to the farm. All the land of the county is thus made valuable; the marshes being all rendered fit for making fodder.
There are good markets for all kinds of produce, and near the home of every one, from the fact that the county not only abounds in villages, but is sur- rounded by them. On the south, two wards of Watertown are in the county, and Waterloo Is adjacent to the county; on the west, Columbus is on the border; on the north, one ward of Waupun, and one ward of Randolph, are in the county. The far eastern portion finds convenient trading-points in Hartford and Ocono- mowoc.
That portion of Waupun In Dodge County includes the State-prison. The county-seat, Juneau, is In the geograplı- ical centre of the county. Beaver Dain, the principal place in the county, has a population of three thousand five lun- dred, about equally divided between foreign and native in origiu; and for beauty, fine buildings, and place of resl- dence, is not surpassed by any city in the State. Its water-power is inexhaust- ible.
The educational facilities of the county are extra. Withiu the county are sev- eral graded public schools; while the comnon schools are nearly all of a high order. In the fine village of Fox Lake is located the Wisconsin Female Seul- nary, an institution of a high order; and at Beaver Dam is Wayland Univer- sity Institute, for the education of both sexes, which is suitably appreciated, and well patronized.
There are in the county five lakes, situated as follows: Fox Lake, In the town of Fox Lake, covers about two and a half square miles, and Is a natural and very clear lake. Beaver Lake is situated in the towns of Beaver Dam and Westford, Fox Lake and Trenton. It is about twelve miles long, Its great- est width a mile and a half, and it covers about ten square miles. It is mostly artificial, being formed by a clam at Beaver Dam City, and is sup- plied with pleasure-boats. Fox Lake and Loss Lake flow into it. Horicon Lake, or Marsh, Is situated in the towns of Hubbard, Burnette, Williamstown, Chester, and Leroy; is fourteen miles long, and about four iniles wide. It ex- tends about two miles into Fond du Lac County. Loss Lake is In the town of
DOOR COUNTY.1-The soil Is generally of a clay loam, interspersed occasionally with soils more or less mixed with sand. In nearly every portion of the county are bottom-lands of alluvial deposits with an average depth of six feet of the richest black loam. On the uplands, a clay soil predominates at an average depth of twelve feet. The county contains about three hundred thousand acres of land, of which a hundred thousand is under cultivation: of the balance, two hundred thousand is only adapted to agricultural pursuits.
The land in the county is timbered with oak, maple, beech, elm, ironwood, birch, basswood, pine, hemlock, tama- rack, cedar, spruce, balsam, and other varieties of timber common to this part of North America. Very valuable mar- ble and stone quarries exist, producing large quantities of material. Sturgeon Bay extends far into the county; and several streams traverse It, all well stocked with fish. All kinds of game are abundant. Farming, lumbering, the manufacture of shingles, stave-bolts, cedar-posts, railroad-ties, and many other lucrative sources of industry, are the pursuits followed. Excellent oppor- tunity is offered for the investment of capital. Blast furnaces might be run to great advantage; every thing necessary being near at hand, except the ore. Cli- mate temperate and pleasant. Water pure and excellent. No epidemics, no contagious diseases: in fact, for health- fulness, It cannot be surpassed. There are ample school-facilities In this county, each settlement having a schoolhouse in close proximity ; and there are Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. The roads in the county, and the facilities, for reaching them, are good.
A large number of the inhabitants of the county are engaged in cutting tim .- ber into cord-wood, saw-logs, railroad- ties, telegraph-poles, fence-posts, &c., for which a ready sale is found. Many farmers devote their winters to this work, clearing up their farins, and sell- ing the timber thius cut down.
The large bodies of water on each side of the peninsula abound with fish, and furnish employment to a large num- ber of men in catching them. Trout
1 This sketch was taken from a contribution Calamine; about one mile long, and by D. G. Morrison of Superior. - C. R. T.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
and white-fish are caught in large quan- | able for meadow-land. It is gener- tities, salted, and sokl at remunerative ally level, and has a fertile and pro- prices.
The population of the county is be- tween six thousand and seven thousand, and embraces ahnost all European na- tional' jes. Belgians, Germans, Norwe- gians, French, Irish, Danes, Dutch, Swedes, English, and people of other nationalities, have come here, and cleared up fine farins in the woods for themselves. After making themselves comfortable homes, they have sent back across the ocean for their relatives and friends to come and share with thein the prosperity offered here to every will- ing heart and strong hand.
DOUGLASS COUNTY. - This county is situated in the north-west part of the State, at the head of Lake Superior. The general surface is rolling, and con- tains within its limits every variety of soll, with a marly subsoil of clay. The county is forty miles square, and has twelve hundred acres under cultivation: of the balance, nearly seven-eighths are capable of improvement and cultiva- tion. One-eighth is owned by actual freeholders, held for disposal at fair prices. The State owns about seventy- five thousand acres, at a price of $1.25 per acre; the General Government, three hundred and forty thousand acres. No railroad lands yet in market. The county is traversed with four streams, with ample facilities for water-power.
Specimens of copper have been found of the richest quality; also large depos- its of iron, though unavailable at pres- ent, owing to the want of railroad facilities. Both granite and red sand- stone, and a good quality of brick, have been manufactured from the clay. The Northern Pacific and St. Paul Road is Lumbering is the leading manufactur- Ing interest. There Is annually manu- now in operation from the western bor- der of the county, and is completed four factured in the county about seventy- hundred miles west. Lumbering and five million feet. fishing are the principal sources of in- dustry. Water good. The average days without frost, from a hundred to a Imudred and twenty. Potatoes, oats, barley, wheat, and all kinds of cereals und grain except corn, yield abun- dantly.
The fine forests, mills, and logging- streams offer good inducements to capi- tal and labor.
Abont half of the population of the county Is American; the balance ahont equally divided between Swedes, Ger- mans, Irish, and French, and some Nor- wegians.
DUNN COUNTY.1-This county is situ- ated in North-western Wisconsin. The eastern portion is mostly prairie and light openings, with some marsh suit-
ductive soll. The western portion is more rolling, and covered with exten- sive forests. The soil is excellent, pro- ducing splendid crops. Winter wheat Is largely grown, and yields from twen- ty to forty bushels per acre. Oats, rye, corn, potatoes, &c., bring forth a rich harvest. In short, the general quality of the soil throughout the county, and Its productiveness, will average as high as any county In the State to which the attention of the immigrant can now be directed. When the forest has been subdued, and the wilderness made to "blossom as the rose," by the labor of the industrious settler, no section of our State will surpass Dunn County in the extent and variety of its productions.
There are at present about seventy- five thousand acres under cultivation, not including many thousand acres en- closed for pasturage. All of the unim- proved lands are fit for cultivation or pasturage.
The county is watered by the Chip- pewa River in the south-east, the Eau Galle In the south-west, and the Red Cedar, which runs through the county from north to south. The Chippewa is navigable for rafts and small steam- boats; the Ean Galle, for rafts and logs only. These streains with their numer- ons tributaries furnish a large mimber of fine water-powers, many of which are unimproved. Saw-mills and flour- ing-mills, however, are springing up in all parts of the county, opening new fields for labor and capital, and furnish- ing a substantial home-market for the products of the forest, the farm, and the garden.
Banks of clay suitable for brick are unterons, but little used. Quarries of limestone have been opened, and suc- cessfully worked. Quarries of beauti- ful sandstone abound, similar in geo- logical formation to the celebrated Potsdam sandstone, which furnish a fine and serviceable building-material. These natural deposits, together with the iunnense quantities of limber, fur- nish an nulimited supply of cheap and accessible building-material.
The railroad facilities are good, and promise to be better in the not distant future.
EAU CLARE COUNTY. 1-This county is thirty-six miles long east and west, and eighteen miles wide north and south. The West Wisconsin Railroad ruus through it from the south-east to
1 We are indebted to C. B. Daniels for this sketch. - C. R. T.
1 This sketch of Dunn County was contrib- uted by R. J. Flint, B. B. French, and C. M. Bonnell of Menomonee. - C. R. T.
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HISTORY OF WISCONSIN.
the north-west, and is the means of di- rect communication between St. Paul and the East, and is fast becoming a very popular ronte.
Lumbering is the principal industry of the conuty. Crops of all kinds are, as a general rule, good, and command remunerative prices. The lands, as a ruie, are weil watered with nice, ciear streams, in many of which the brook- trout abounds. A sufficient amount of hay grows wild on the marshes to sup- piy the demands; but tame hay can be cultivated and grown on the dry lands if desired. The Chippewa River cuts across the western part of the county, and is navigable for boats; while the Eau Claire River, which runs from the east to the west, and joins the Chip- pewa, is navigable only for saw-logs. At the junction of the Eau Claire with the Chippewa River is situated the prin- cipai place in the county, namely, Eau Claire, which is a city of some eight thousand inhabitants, and is constantly increasing in nnumbers.
Angusta, the next place of importance in the county, is situated about twenty- four miles south-east of Eau Claire, on the West Wisconsin Railroad, and has a population of about twelve hundred : it is situated in a fine farming-district, and is a flourishing, pleasant town.
The population of the county is com- posed chiefly of Americans, Germans, Norwegians, and Irish; the German and Norwegian being the most numerous of the foreign element represented, although the main branches of busi- ness are conducted by the Americans. The climate is as good as can be found in this latitude, being coid and dry in the winter, without many storms, and in summer as pleasant, warm, and cheer- ful as can be wished for. This county is comparatively young. Not many years ago, where the city of Eau Claire now stands was the camping-ground of the Indian; and if the county improves for the next ten years to come as it has for the same time past (and we have every reason to believe that it will), it will be as cultivated a section of country as a person can wish to live in.
Eau Claire is situated at the conflu- ence of the Chippewa and Eau Claire Rivers, about a hundred and eighty- five miles north-west of Madison. This village was laid out in 1858, and has kept steadily growing, till now it has a popniation of 8,440. Owing to its peculiar situation, it is separated into three villages; viz., Eau Claire, West Eau Claire, and North Ean Claire. Eau Claire and West Ean Claire are inhabited mostly by Americans. The dwellers in North Eau Claire are mostly Germans. The principal source of wealth, and what has given the village its rapid growth, are the extensive manufactories | du Lac for this sketch. - C. R. T.
of pine-lumber at this point. The Eau Claire and Chippewa Rivers, and tle smaller streams flowing into thein, fur- nisit an inexhaustibie supply of timber. The advantages of the location for Ium- ber and other manufacturing, with the additional impetus furnished by the West Wisconsin Railroad, will likely make this the leading city in the north- west part of the State. In the imme- diate vicinity of Eau Claire are thirty steam saw-mills.
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