The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-07-14

humOer company dG w dopo /"
requires in it's operation and IN It's
logging industries, the services OF
1000 men for eight or nine months
Of the year; the Alexander-Edga
plant at Iron River employees 300
men the year round, while institu
tions like that at Mason and DrUrI-
mond employ three or four hundred
men a good part of the time, The
white pine and norway pine forests
of Bayfield, county have been the
means of main tanning one of the
most prosperous sections of the New
North for many years. AS the pine
decreases year after year attention
is being turned to the manufacture
of hemlock, hardwood, birch and
other timber Cedar also forms an
industry of considerable magnitude.
One of the great natural advant :
ages of Bayfield, county is the fact
that it is situated on Chequamegon
bay and at the head of Lake Superior
making it the natural shipping point
for eastern points by water for the
whole northwest. Of course the
local products-principally lumber,
form large part of the shipments,
but there are received at Washburn
great quantities of grain, and the
annual shipments by water are in the
neighborhood of 100000 bushels.
The Washburn coal docks have a
capacity of $50, 900 tons of coal, and
the whole of this capacity is utilized
every season, great ship-loads of
coal being received during the entire
period of navigation, which is
supplied to the northwest. These
two industries are operated as ad
iuncts to the Chicago, ST. Paul,
Minneapolis & Omaha railroad,
which has it's principal lake point at
| Washburn, The road traverses
most of the county, forming con-
venient outlet for the towns of Bay
field, Mason, Drummond, Pratt,
Bibon, and other villages. The
Northern Pacific railroad also has a
branch into Washburn, connecting
with the main line at Iron River.
Shipments of western timber are
. now sent over the Washburn branch
for water shipment at the latter
place to eastern points. In addition
to the Northern Pacific the village
, of Iron River also has splen bid ship
ping facilities by way of the Duluth,
South Shore and Atlantic railroad.
A new railroad is to be built this
su MINER to Cornucopia from Bay
field. and this will soon be extended
along the south shore OF Lake Su-
perior to Port Wing and Superior.
There are in ad dition to the great
lines of roads numerous logging
railroads, which cover nearly every
point Of the county, and form con-
veuient means TO" shipment and
travel to different parts. The rail-
road facilities combined with the
excellent lake traffic are features
which cannot help but work to the
advantage of a new coun try, and
! their beneficial results have done
much to foster the commercial and
manufacturing interests of the
locality.
Of the cities of the county Wash
burn, bayfield, and Iron River have
: city lighting and water plants, their
streets and buildings being provided
with electric lights and water for
) drinking and fire purposes. Some
of the large manufacturing plants
own their own lighting plants, and
these are to be found in the above
mentioned cities, as we'll as at Mason
and Drummond.
When Bayfield, county was origin
ally created it worked under the one
town Of bayfield,, which constituted
all of the county, In 1884 the towns
of Drummond, Washburn and Mason
; were created. Bayfield, had been a
prosperous town fer over thirty
years, and together with the Old
town of Superior constituted about
all there was OF Importance at the
head of Lake Superior. But the
coming of the Omaha railroad open
ed up great country, and the towns
of Drummond and Mason became
important owing to the large saw
mills erected at those places. Wash
burn having been selected by the
Omaha railroad as their shipping