The 19th-century logging industry reshaped the landscape of central and northern Wisconsin.
LoggingĪfter farming, logging formed the backbone of the state's economy. By 1915, Wisconsin produced more butter and cheese annually than any other state. Their efforts brought farmers and scientists together to share ideas, which were dispersed more broadly through the Wisconsin Dairyman Association. He tirelessly promoted the dairy industry for nearly 50 years, along with the University of Wisconsin School of Agriculture, whose faculty, such as professor Stephen Babcock (1843-1931, inventor of the first test for butterfat content), laid the scientific basis for efficient dairying. William Dempster Hoard (1836-1918) led this transformation. By 1899, more than 90 percent of Wisconsin farms kept cows. Farmers needed to do something new.ĭairy products emerged as the most viable alternative to wheat. States to the west were also able to grow more wheat at a lower cost than Wisconsin farmers. Even before the war, yields had already begun to decrease after years of soil exhaustion. Wheat had been an important early crop in Wisconsin. Rise of Dairy Farmingĭuring the Civil War chinch bugs began devouring Wisconsin wheat. If these could be gathered together near a water source or railroad crossing, a rural village sprang to life. They needed mills to grind their wheat, banks to lend them money, schools to teach their kids, stores to sell them dry goods, blacksmiths to make their tools, and churches to soothe their souls. Most also grew cash crops, such as wheat for flour or hops for beer, to sell in urban markets. They kept chickens, pigs, horses, and cattle. No single commodity dominated 19th-century Wisconsin in the way that beaver had the fur trade industry, but farming, mining and lumbering touched most lives.įarmers grew grains, fruit, and vegetables. Economic GrowthĪll of these new residents needed homes, food, furniture, clothing and other goods, which fueled the young economy. What were their day-to-day lives like? Read their firsthand accounts. All varieties of English accents were heard on the street, from Irish brogue to Southern drawl. Languages spoken in Wisconsin homes included Ho-Chunk, French, German, Menominee, Dutch, Norwegian, Oneida, Swedish, Danish, Polish and Potawatomie. The rest belonged to smaller Protestant sects. The remainder who weren't farmers worked as lumberjacks, miners, or merchants.Ībout a quarter of the population was Catholic, and the same number Methodist. About a quarter of adult men worked in one of the 7,000 factories built in 2,700 cities and towns. The newcomers carved out more than 100,000 farms, which occupied roughly half the state's acreage. About 11,000 Indians (one percent of the population in 1870) lived on or off reservations. More than a third were born overseas: 16 percent from Germany, eight percent from the British Isles, five percent from Scandinavia, and the rest from elsewhere in Europe or Canada. Less than one in five were middle aged or elderly. About a third were children or teenagers, and about half were adults aged 18-45. They were virtually all white (less than one-tenth of one percent were African American), and men outnumbered women by a slight margin, 52 percent to 48 percent.īy today's standards, the immigrants were young. The 1870 census shows that over a million people came to live in the state. Immigrants flooded into Wisconsin beginning in the 1840s. White settlers rushed into areas only recently left vacant by Indian removals. The first quarter of the 19th century was marked by westward migration into the regions north and west of the Ohio River. Wisconsin grew tremendously during this century, transforming from a frontier to a modern and increasingly industrial state. Railroads closed distances between cities and allowed for the transport of goods in and out of the state. Most of this money went toward construction, land investment, and development projects that state leaders hoped would propel the state’s economic growth and increase settlement. Lumbering, mining, and land sales generated most of Wisconsin’s wealth in the early years. Most settled on farms, and all came seeking opportunity. Some came from the eastern United States and others came from Europe. Thousands of immigrants poured into Wisconsin in the 19 th century.
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