Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-02-22
A new RAILROAD
FOR WATERFOWL
SUCH is PLAN PROPOSED BY
WAUPACA GENTLEhIEN,
Attempt to Interest Wisconsin
Central OffiCidlS-Tdlk OF a
Through Line From Superior to
ChiCdgO-This City Would Be
on Direct Line.
tFrom Tuesdays Daily.)

4
A direct line of the Wisconsin Cen
trail railroad from Superior and Du-
ruth to Chicago with Watertown on
the main line and as division point.
Sounds good, does it not?
Well. such is part Of plan that
originated in the mind A. ID. Barnes
of Waupaca, Wis, familiarly known
| IN northern Wisconsin as "Appletree
Barnes" Mr.. Barnes, in company
with Attorney F. F. Wheeler, also
Of Waupaca, was in the city yester
| day and in the afternoon met num-
Ger of the business men OF the city in
an effort to create sentiment and in
crest among the citizens in showing d
friendly disposition call along the
me- toward the officials of the " is
onsin Central road, in an effort to
how them the benefits of such a
trough line from Chicago to the
h, ad of the great lakes.
Mr. Barnes explained the purpose
of his visit, first by giving his au-
ience to understand that he was
not railroad promoter and that ne
Was not sent here under the dlrec-
ton of any corporation or individ
ual, but merely came as an inter-
ateG citizen, his sole purpose being
create a like interest among citi
IS between Grand Rapids, Woo
Mnlv Vol nrfh
county, in an effort to interest the
officials of the railway company in
such line.
The plan as presented by Mr.. Barnes
$ most feasible one and received
hearty second from those who head
i presented yesterday afternoon and
i. is very evident that Watertown will
end a willing hand in the movement.
AS is we'll known, the Wisconsin
entral road has been and is dong
considerable building in the northern
part of the state On the 9TH of last
July. the first train was run over an
extension of the line from Owens,
Chippewa county, to Ladysmith, Rusk
county Since that time operations
have been IN progress between Lady
smith and Superior and Duluth, which,
when completed, will give direct
line from the cities at the head of the
lakes to Grand Rapids and Nekoosa,
Wood county. In order to have d.
rect inc from Superior to Chicago, it
.ould be necessary to build only from
Hekoosa to Mukwonago, worth
county, distance estimated to be l20
miles. thence into Chicago on the
nam line. With the completion of
such road v atertown, fortunately,
wouiu be on the main line.
The writer has heard much talk in
northern Wisconsin relative to the
operations of the Central road. The
universal opinion Is that it is the
plan of the railroad company to ulti
mately have direct lines from the
head of the lakes and the copper coun
try in the upper peninsula of Michi-
gan to Chicago. 1t seems TO be the
only logical conclusion and goes to
krove that Mr.. Barnes is sound in the
position he takes.
The query naturally arose, why Mr..
Barnes was so deeply interested. He
explained his position further by
saying that he owned thirty farms. in
all about 5000 acres, that would be
adjacent to the line if built. much of
The land being in Adams county, the
only county in the state that has no
railroad at the present time.
If such a line were built as sug-
gested by Mr.. Barnes 1t would pene-
trate the following counties: Wood,
Adams, Marquette. Green Lake, Col
umbia, Dodge, Jefferson, Waukesha
and Walworth. These would be the
counties touched in building from
Nekoosa, Wood county, to Mukwona
go, Walworth county. Lowell, Dodge
county is also marked as one of the
places on the proposed route.
Messrs Barnes and Wheeler will
visit Lowell today to try and interest
the citizens there. In fact they IN
tend to 60 over the entire proposed
route and later expect to get an au-
dience with the president of the Gen.
trail ruad, from whom he has already
received some encouraging letters.