Condos in the Woods: The Growth of Seasonal and Retirement Homes in Northern Wisconsin

Chapter 2: The Pathway to Change and Settlement in the Pine Barrens

T his story features the twenty-first-century cultural landscape and the current forces of change altering the social fabric of communities in the Pine Barrens of Wisconsin. But in order to understand the present transformation of the region, we briefly characterize the past human imprint on the land. To do this, we highlight the story of three communities, two of which were able to shift from their production landscape and build a consumption landscape on the natural amenity assets in the surrounding countryside. The historical eras of northern Wisconsin Pine Barrens in many ways mirror changes faced by rural communities across America. Northern Wisconsin has evolved over time as the population and landscape changed. European settlement began with a pioneering period that ushered in the early arrival of lumber barons and lumbermen from around  to . This was a time when the production landscape of the Pine Barrens was established. A settlement period followed, marked by a surge in the arrival of European settler families to the frontier, a time when many of the northern communities were taking on a personality of their own and agriculture was heavily promoted. The period ended after the logging boom and many agricultural pursuits proved unsuccessful, around . The meandering period occurred from  through the s when general population and economic decline for much of the region occurred (Gough ). But new economic revitalization took place in the region after the s. The fourth era, from the s to the present, the rediscovery period, marks a time when population again began to increase and tourism became an economic mainstay for many communities and people living in the region. A consumption landscape began to emerge. chapter  The Pathway to Change and Settlement in the Pine Barrens  The Pathway to Change and Settlement in the Pine Barrens  The Pioneering Period As timber supplies in the eastern United States were exhausted, lumber companies found their way to the forests of northern Wisconsin. To assess the timber potential of the area, logging companies first sent in timber cruisers to determine the size of the area to be logged and the amount of timber present so that appropriate numbers of men and equipment could be dispatched. Thus began the pioneer period. Next came the men to build roads and camps, a supply division that brought in the equipment necessary to support men and animals, and finally the workers and equipment needed to do the logging (Marple ). Timber harvesting occurred on a small scale in northern Wisconsin until the s but soon became the backbone of the region’s economy (Marple ). Logging activities were the primary incentive for those Europeans pioneering in the region because the forests provided a means for new settlers to earn a living. The earliest pioneer communities in the area were camps established to accommodate the multitude of lumberjacks who came from the East to seek employment. Camps were usually built within one mile of the logging activity—the distance a man could comfortably walk in one day and still put in a good day’s work. These temporary establishments were easily uprooted and moved near the next great stand of trees to fell (Marple ). Prior to the s, logging camps were small and primitive. A crew of twelve to fifteen men typically needed only one building to provide sleeping, eating, and cooking quarters. The men slept in rough, wooden bunks or on the floor of the shack, which was heated with a small open fire. Eventually most camps would include a stable for horses or oxen and an equipment shed (Marple ). Much of community life in the Northwoods revolved around logging activity in this early era of resource dependency. Before railroads made their way to this still-remote section of the world, water was the primary mode of transportation for cut timber. Companies built many dams on the region’s small rivers and streams to aid in transportation of the logs. Water volume was strictly controlled on these waterways in an effort to direct the flow of timber. A dam operator cleared the stream of obstructions such as trees and boulders, sometimes with the aid of explosives. In some instances, canals shortened the course or bypassed dangerous stretches of river (Marple ). During the early years, the timber industry extracted only pine logs (or soft wood) because they floated well on the waterways. “White Pine had special characteristics: it floated, was of great length...