Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-09-16
Grand Rapids and Centralia.

Grand Rapids and Centralia.
We clip the following from the col
umns of the Chicago Commercial Ad-
Uertiser:
x Fity-nlne miles westward by
the Green Bay & Minnesota Railroad
and across wooded region, with here
and there village. and some we'll
cultivated farms, brings me to the
s.' GRAND RAPIDS d..
OF the Wisconsin, where a group of
brave positive and self-helpful men have
made a. town of $500 people. in the
midst of beautiful Surroundings and a
profusion of material resources that
will some day lead to indefinite COM
mercial and industrial expansion.
came to these rapids by invitation Of
my Omro friend, Norman Gerard, and
have him, with Doctor Witter, J. D.
Witter, Judge Powers, g. A. Corri-
veau. Mr.. Brundage, of the Tribune,
and others, to thank for one of the most
enjoyable visits [ remember. The
town is upon the east side of the river,
the business portion occupying the
lower plateau at the watcrside, and the
elegant new school house-now
building at cost of ,0O0-with
most OF the churches and residences
on the upper plateau, that is finally
lost in the table land to the further
east. The situation is alike command
ing and poetic. The broad river sweep
ing down, for three miles, by fall of
sixty feet, gracefully winding about
the hundred nameless islets and brake
ing over the rocks into playful, sunny,
dashing, dancing wavelets as they 90,
to the wild and endless monotone of
their own music, ''drifting downward
toward the sea, must be to the deni-
zens OF this fair town perpetual pleas
ure. For myself, [ could dream away
TIE summer days here with delighted
sense of sight and sound and forget
that the world had aught of toll or
care in reserve for men. But since /
came to see and write of the CONNER
cial, industrial and social Grand Rap
ids and not to weave its bright waters
into song, it will be a very popular
thing to say that it is the capital of
Wood County, and has much besides
poetry to commend it to the world
without. In respect to
MATERIAL RESOURCES
l have found few Northwestern towns
that are any better off than the Rapids.
In agriculture this region is still in
It's infancy, and it's maximum will
hardly come up to the fair and fertill
farm districts which were but impefect-
ly sketched last week at Winneconne
and Omro. Wheat, corn, oats, barley
potatoes and hops are successfully
grown, however, and the agriculture of
Wood County is only wanting in age
to give it place by the side of the
average country southwark. But the
WATER POWER
is almost matchless and has in itself
the possibilities of support to city Of
$4,000 souls. For three miles the
rlver-which is thirty-six rods wide
here at low stage-tumbles down the
rapids with volume and velocity only
equaied by the great mountain streams.
In this distance sixty feet Of fall is
made and almost every rod of the shore
line upon either side, is available to
machinery, and within reach Of the
power to drive it. The conformation
OF the. stream, along the rapids, is such
that the power may be reproduced at
short intervals. The velocity of the
stream--at low tide-,.in the rapids is
lhertyti0e hundred cubic feet per Sec
o"@. The entire volume of the river
Tor three miles, is roughly estimated
at fyty thousand horse power. Only a
small portion of this superb power is
utilized; but the day will come when
the music Of wheel and spindle, of
lathe and waterfall will find its counter
part IN the quick heartbeat of 10, 1000
souls whose homes shall line these
beautiful plateaus as the cliffs line the
islands OF the sea- [ must not fail to
notice, briefly,
THE CRANBERRY FIELDS
OF this region to which each successive
year OF experiment and results is
adding consequence. Of the cram
berry belt, Judge L. P. Powers of this
city gives me the following interesting
particulars The widest extent of
country in the world suited to Gran
berry culture. and where this fruit
reaches perfection, both in the wild
and domestic condition, is about
twenty-five miles wide and runs north
east and southwest through the coun-
ties OF Wood, Jackson, Juneau aud
Monroe, and is mainly traverSed by