Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-29
WISCONSIN VALLEYS
GREAT WEALTH.
IN HARDWOOD, LUMBER, GRANITE,
AGRICULTURE, ETC.
A Short Examination of Some of The
Greatly Diversified Natural Resources of
The Valley.

association spent Friday in Milwaukee.
The possibilities of the country devaS-
tated of the pine which has made
scores of milliOnaires are known to
those men who have spent their lives
among them, although to the tourist.
or to the resident of the east and
south, they are comparatively I'M
known. In an interview which MIR.
Rose dictated to member of The
Journal staff, he had this to say of "hiS
country"
The people of the state" said Mr..
Rose, .'t,ave no idea of the wealth of
the Wisconsin River valley. and were
| to tell the plain unvarnished truth,
[ would be accused Of MulhattoniSm.
There are more propositions incu-
batting in the valley this season that
sound. like fairy tales when told in
print than the rank and file of business
men in Wisconsin would ever dream
Of In my opinion, one reason for the
slow development of other than pine
industries in the Wisconsin valley is
the horrible appearance of the country
traversed by the railroads. No man
can go through the valley on either of
the lines of railroad, even in the sum-
mer, without feeling that he is traver-
ing dismal swamp. Instances are
scattered where the farm lands show
along the road. 1t is waste of dead
timber. or mOraSS, or a stretch of
stumpage that the eye encounters
from Grand Rapids to Star Lake, with
an occasional belt of hardwood, tama-
rack or spruce or some other deSpised
wood to vary the mOnotOny.
yet, in the valley, only mile or
two back. and for almost its entire
length, are found farms which in
appointments are equal to those in any
Of the older states. The tourist does
not see these-he simply sees the back
yard Of the valley both summer and
winter. And | doubt not that many
prospector has been disguised and
turned his face hOmeward without
going beyond the pale of the cities and
the track of the railroads. To the
stranger the cities appear as if they
had been dropped down into the woods
and how the many thousands of people
within their confines gain a livelihood
is a matter of conjecture to him.
They do not know them, nor would
they believe if told of the great manu-
featuring institutions of the valley
LAS an instance of the magnitude of
some of them, | can mention the
Curtis & Yale company. with it's
lumber camps, and the big factories
at WauSau, which employed nearly
l 800 men this winter. Wausau has
another institution cutting veneers
that has run night and day for six
weeks and never lost but two days,
and those on account of a breakdown.
1T is hard to tell where the great est
Inducements are offered 10 capital.
The Wisconsin valley is so prolific of
resources in SO many different ways
that it may be said to differ from any
other locality. Of course the promi-
nent factors today are hardwood,
granite and quartzite. anyone of them
said to be of aSgreat moment in point
of wealth as the pine industry has
been. But beyond that is the great
inducement the northern part of the
valley offers to summer reSOrterS
That question is taking prominent
part all along the line. Rhinelander
will build an artificial lake this sum-
mer. TOmahawk likewise, and the
one at Wausau has already been thor
Oughly presented in your columns
But where the influx of summer
reSOrterS must cOlOnize is around
Eagle River, Rhinelander, Star Lake
and Minocqua. That country offers
what may be termed veritable
fisherman S paradise. There are lakes
for trout, lakes for bass, and lakes for
pickerel, and others where the bigger
fellows dominate. 1t is told by fisher
men that in Trout lake the big fish
have been driven away by the speckled
trout. This sounds to me like a fish
story, but there are men around
Minocqua who will vouch for it's
truth.
st is in this country where little
inroad has been made upon the timber
because Of the predominance of hem
lock and hardwoods. Pine has been
cut out in some instances, but around
most Of the lakes are still undiSturbed
forests. 1t is in the prettiest spot
that we can select that we are going
to camp the Wisconsin Press asSOcia-
ton next summer. We proposed to
build dining pavilion and dormitOry
for the old fellowS-thOSe who have
become sere, dare not say Yellow
and rheumatic. For those who like
We'll have tents reared
under natures canopy, dual canopy
in this case of pine needles and sky.
But to 60 back to what is being
done, and what can be DONE At
Stevens Point two young men have
stock company and pur-
chased 10000 acres of swamp lands.
They are now having surveys made
for perfect drainage system for the
entire plat. The proposition further
includes the creation of an artificial
lake, not for resort purposes alone, but
for the purpose of making the farm
lands that are created by the drainage
system more valuable.
This whole stretch Of swamp is
dotted here and there with pretty
little woodland mounds covered with
trees that are indigenous to middle
Wisconsin. To one who has seen the
benefits derived from the improve
ment of swamp lands in other and
more advanced states, this proposition
is prolific Of great promise as an i'm
provement and as money maker. If
the present plans carry that tract of
$4,000 acres Of swamp land will, IN five
years, become one of the points of
interest to tourists in Wisconsin.
Near junction City an unlimited
supply of graphite of a very superior
quality has been found. This is being
developed in very small way, but it !
finds d clamOring market that exceeds
the supply that they are ready to put
out with their present capacity. At
Greater Grand Rapids, as the citizens
are pleased to term it since the CONSOLE |
dation with Centralia. kaolin crops
out at intervals in the city on the
Cenlralia side, and for years it has
been used for street-making. | was
told by a stanch and reliable, business