Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-05-16
The Railroad Project.

liens throughout the county. In
! one sense it is new. The Williams
project in the main is to build a par
row gauge railroad from Tomah to
Chicago. Tomah is town in Mon
roe county, 80 miles north of Lam
caster (by straight line) and two
miles esst-on the railroad direct
between Milwaukee and La Cross Q
and at the southern terminus of the
Wisconsin, Valley railroad. The road
starting from Tomah will bear west
of south to Wauzeka. Thence it is
intended in some way to touch at
Woodman in this county and pass
thence through Fennimore and
Wingville. The Lancaster division
will be branch forming junction
at point about two miles east of
the village of Fonnimore-the arm
being about twelve miles long.
There are many speculatious and
conjectures as TO the future of the
project. Will the whole road ever
be bailta Will any part oft ever
be built? Will 1t be satisfactory if
it is built? viii il pay2 These are
questions hardly worth while
now TO borrow trouble over. Will
liams is setting and the easiest way
to get rid of him is to let him hatch.
All want to know something of pres
emit progress. The whole railroad
force is now at work in this coanty
some on Green river, some in Fen.
nimore and some in Wingville Much
of the heavy grading is done. No
work is yet done on the Lancaster
branch. The route will be nearly
level and the grading very light.
North of the Wisconsin the grading
is nearly complete to Bloomingdale,
a village seven townships distant
from and north of the Wisconsin.
Between that point and Tomah no
work has been done and none is in-
tended to be done this year.
Aid has been voted by petition by
Lancaster to the amount of $42, 900.
Fennimore gives $4,000. WingviIle
aids about this sum. Mt. Ida Is ex.
pected to give some aid, probably
SO, 900. On the other side of the
Wisconsin Wauzeka, like Wood man
on this side. may not be looked to
for aid. Marietta, the next town
north, voted $4,000 aid,and is stand
ing a lawsuit against payment. Ha-
ney, the next town north, voted So
500 and the amount is mostly paid.
Clayton the next town voted Sc. 900
and have nearly paid it. Kickapoo,
the next town, voted $4,000 and is
is nearly paid. Liberty, next town
north, voted So 500, and have paid
two>thirds of the amount. Clinton.
the next town, voted $1,000, two.
thirds paid. Webster, the Dext town
voted $4,000 two-thirds graded
Christiana, adjoining Webster, but not
traversed by the railroad route,
voted $4,000 which is two.thirds
paid. As before stated all the grad
ing in these towns north Of the Wis
consin is nearly completed. The
route follows the Kickapoo.
| 1t is proper in this connection to
take birds eye view of the lay of
this road. Starting from Lancaster
and following north to Tomah and
thence through the roote of the Wis.
. consin Valley road to Lake Super.
ior, the road goes torough the great
. lumber district of northern Wiscon
Sin. The Importance of such road
and it's advantages. when continued
: from Lancaster to Dunleith, where
} there are connections west, south
} and east have been heretofore spo.
} ken of at length in the HERALD. The
far West has for some years been 9
{ consumer of lumber brought from
a nothern Wisconsin and Michigan
Z Much of that lumber has passed
. down lake Michigan Or down the
. railroads bearing southerly course
? to Chicago and thence by rail clear
i. across Illinois and Iowa into Kansas
Q and Nebraska. Such q course is 8
8 long way round, but it has paid the
( railroads and has paid the shippers
J or the business would rot have beer
8 done. If it paid by such lengthy
and circuitous route it will pay by {
i, much shorter route. If there has
? been demand in the far west for the
. lumber of our northern pineries ii
: past years, the vast emigration Sc
< in this year will by several fold in
crease that demand in future years
. Thus the lumber trade alone will
give q great deal of business to thiG
road if completed on the plan here
/, suggested. 1t has also been suppose ed
that at no distant day the far South
would impro5e 10 arts and manners
? and the whole country become &C.
{ cupied as the North has. When that
time comes southern people in large
r numbers will want to pass dog days
t on Lake Superior and northern peo-
, pie fleeing from boreal blasts will re
r treat to the Gulf states in the Win,
, ter. There will be no more direc,
Q route than the one here laid dowr
8 for such travel. The products of the
1 North will be marketed to the South
/. The products Of the Sosth will bt
n s0ld IN tho North Thara uitl ha o.