INDUSTRY OF COUNTIES. 
479 
Bay and Lake Pepin railroad is to pass through the north part of the coun¬ 
ty, crossing the Wolf river at New London 5 and the Central W isconsin en¬ 
tering the county near the southeast corner, passes through in a northwest 
course to lake Superior. When both roads are built and in successful ope¬ 
ration, in connection with our steam-boat navigation on the Wolf river, we 
believe that the next ten years will bring about a material rise in all kinds 
of real estate, and give an impulse to the settlement of our county hereto¬ 
fore unknown. 
The population of our county in 1860 was 8,850, now it has increased to 
about 15,500. A majority of our people are from the eastern and middle 
states, although we have a large foreign population in some towns. 
While our winters are probably nearly as cold as in those places in 
the same latitude east, we have much less snow, in fact, often not enough 
for permanent good sleighing during the whole season. Vegetation starts 
rather late in the spring, but it is made up to us when it does get started 
Things grow very rapid, and come to maturity early. Our summers are de¬ 
lightful; the air being bracing, healthy and invigorating. We have no fe¬ 
brile diseases; miasma is a thing unknown. 
There is much here to lure the immigrant in his journey west in search 
of a permanent home; our fertile soil, cheap lands, healthy climate, good 
water, our sober, intelligent population, our improvements and natural re¬ 
sources, our good markets, our schools, churches, all will tend to make 
Wisconsin one of the most desirable states of the great west, and make her 
counties rich and populous; among which not the most insignificant will be 
ranked Waupaca county. 
WAUSHARA COUNTY. 
BY E. R. MONTGOMERY, HANCOCK. 
Waushara county comprises eighteen towns in territory, and is in shape 
a parallelogram, being eighteen miles wide and thirty-six miles long. 
The three eastern towns are heavily timbered, with the exception of some 
quite large tracts of open marsh. These marshes are valuable for the cul¬ 
tivation of cranberries. In the town of Aurora, last year, cranberries were 
gathered and sold to the amount of $250,000 worth, adding a large sum to 
the general wealth and prosperity of the town,, and giving profitable em¬ 
ployment to several hundred people, including boys and girls, during the 
picking season. Five years ago all these lands were considered almost 
worthless. The timbered portion of the six eastern towns are not only val¬ 
uable for the timber, but the land is of excellent quality, natural for grass 
or winter wheat, and all other crops that can be raised in this latitude. 
The county is well watered by Pine River and Willow creek, both good 
