Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1921-11-17
HISTORY OF
WOOD COUNTY

Is in course of preparation by rep
resentatives who are now in our midst
securing facts and data therefor.
They are making very careful sur
vey of historical facts obtained from
! the official records and local resid-
entS
| Few stories of human progress are
| filled with such thrilling interest as
the development of central Wiscon-
sin. Within the memory of men and
| women still living, and still vigorous,
a vast stretch of primeval wilderness
noble forests, dreary swamps, sweep
ing rivers and rushing creeks, has
been transformed into one of the most
prosperous agricultural regions of the
country. This change has been brot
about by noble pioneers, who left the
beloved scenes of their former resid-
ence to take part in the winning of
the Old Northwest. Every slightly
set of farm buildings, every well-tilled
acre, every city or village residence,
every business house, every church,
every school, every improved high
way, every move toward progress and
betterment, represents high ambitions
and heart breaking toll and sacrifice
S rapid has the progress been that
there has been little time for the par
Elephants to pause, and set down the
story for future generations, and in
the rush of swiftly moving events, the
real facts and picturesque color of
the changing environment, seem like
ly to be almost forgotten, preserved
only in tales handed down more or
less vaguely from father to son.
In order that the story of the not
able struggles and accomplishments
of the makers of Wood County may
not utterly perish from the mind of |
man, many leading citizens have long
desired concise, readable and reli- |
able, history, preserved in book form
for all time.
To adequately justify its purpose
such history should be of a four |
fold nature-it should form a hand
book of easy reference to the import |
ant facts concerning the life of the
county, both ancient and modern; it |
should trace the story of the county
by periods not only relating the facts
of each period but also telling some
thing of the causes and the results;
it should deal with the courage, pri-
vations, humor, pathos and r0~@o'
alities of the pioneer days; and it
should tell the story of the men nas
and present whose private lives have
been intertwined with the general life
of the county.
To fill this long-felt need, the pres
ent work is being planned. In its
those who have charge
of the undertaking will gather in so
far as possible everything that has
been previously printed in books,
and pamphlets regarding
the county, and to this will be added
all the new material that trained re-
search can reveal; record books of
all nature will be carefully scanned,
private diaries will be consulted. let
ters written in the early days will be
unearthed from many an attic, and
corps of gentlemanly investigators
will personally interview the old set
tiers and prominent citizens.
This material will then be thor
oughly studied, and from it a history
will be prepared which will fulfill the
ideals of what such work should be
"a history arranged in an attractive
and scholarly manner, so that any
subject may be readily found and as
readily grasped, valuable alike to the
child searching for thrilling stories
of the past; to the teacher desiring
material for class work; to the pro-
fessional man looking for authority
on some particular point which has
arisen in his work; to the general
reader interested in the growth of an
important division of a great state;
to the man or woman seeking the |
story of his or her locality, church,
school, lodge, creamery or bank or
every citizen of the county who has
at heart the progress and develop
nent of his community.
The history will be an honor to the
priceless heritage of heroic ideals |
and family traditions to hand down
to all future generations.