Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1901-08-27

LOCATION Marathon county is located in the
go -. north central part of Wisconsin, about
AND AREA. one hundred and seventy miles north
west of Milwaukee 1t contains forty -four government
townships of land and is considerably larger than the
State of Rhode Island
RAILROADS. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul
Railway north and south through
the county close to the Wisconsin River The Chicago
North Western Railway east and west bowshaped
through the county, and the Ashland Branch also
within mile of the east boundary line of the county
The Wisconsin Central Railroad runs north and south
along the western boundary of the county. In addition
to these the Connor railroad eastery from STRAIT
ford, station the Chicago North Western Railway
about fourteen miles The Joseph Dessert Lumber Com
pany railroad east of Mosinee about the same
distance and the Marshfeld North Eastern railroad
from Abbotsford the Wisconsin Central Railroad
through the northwestern part OF the county These
primarily built for logging purposes.
SOIL. In the river valleys the soil is sandy with
mixture of clay 1t is a good soil and easily
worked producing fine crops but it is not good soil
as lies back from the river valleys. These valleys
generally and the of sandy soil limited Not
ten per cent of the soil of the county of this charac
ter There heavy growth of timber this sandy
soil originally indicating that it not poor soil This
Marathon county sandy soil is superior to the soil in the
so-caed sand belt which through central Wscon
sin About two per cent. of the soil in the county is
swamp. Much of this be reclaimed The balance of
clay and is as good and productive as any land in the
state. This land originally heavily tmbered with
pdh o"SsWoou elul3 lnaPe DuIIGlhut henIoChi oIoh,
5asam ash and scattering pine Large bodies of these
kinds of timber still standing But little pine grew
this hardwood land Some portions of this hardwood land
are stony, the stone generally being small and easily
removed.
WATER. The whole county is well watered with
creeks, streams and springs, which furnish
bountiful supply of pure, clear as there
lime stone this is all soft water There very few
in he th1th have Crlrinr rnoiuCr
water upon them. The level of the water is the
surface of the soil and there few wells of any
siderable depth in the county In most places good
water be had by digging wells not exceeding twenty
five feet in depth.
POPJU ALTON The population in 1850 was sos;
@IT0 C00v7--I, in 1860, 1892; in 1870, 1885, in
A1X1Z SNOw II 1885, II, ,121; in 1890, 80 369 in
9OO 256 the increase in the past ten years being r.
$751; 424 per cent The majority of the people in the
county of German birth descent; the Scandinavian
countries, Poland and Ireland contributing nearly all the
balance of the people of foreign descent.
SETTLEMENT AND Some parts of the county
1T1ITI 01rTTxTT were settled in the sos the
3EvEL0I NLaz L settlements rapidly extend
ing large areas of the county until in many towns
the population dense is in Walworth county or
Dane county. Other sections of the county compar
atively and unsettled, although there
ships in the county without settlers. All parts of the
county connected by good roads, modern road
machines being in in nearly all towns In all of the
older towns cheese factories and creameres have been
established most of the latter the cooperative plan.
SCHOOLS Marathon County takes pride in her
rural schools There are one hundred
ninety schools in the county outside of the city of Wau
and hundred ninetyeight teachers employed
in these schools The teachers well selected and are
faithful and competent The county has organized
maintains 1T WauSau training school for rural teachers,
the first school of its kind established in the
United States. An earnest endeavor made to give
child in the reasonable chance obtain
practical common school education and the aim
of those in charge of the educational work make the
rural schools of Marathon County the best Wisconsin
MANUFACTURES The manufactures of the
- --- county are saw mills flour
1lxD N-a\-AE =. mills, paper mills,
works sash and door and excelsior factories, tanneries,
breweries and quartz and granite works. There is
inexhaustbe supply of the finest quartz and granite in