68 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Improvement is worthy of consideration. Early in the history 
of the Territory of Wisconsin, the near approach of the two 
rivers, Fox and Wisconsin, at Fort Winnebago (now Portage 
City), attracted the attention of shrewd observers looking to 
the future rapid development of w r hat was destined to become 
a great State. There were these two noble rivers — one flow¬ 
ing from the inexhaustible pineries of the North, and emptying 
Into the Mississippi; the other making its way through a rich 
grain-growing district, uniting its waters with those of the yet 
larger Wolf at Oshkosh, and emptying first into Lake Winne¬ 
bago and then into Green Bay. Both were navigable for small 
steamers, and the construction of a canal a mile or two in 
length at Portage, and a few locks on the Lower Fox, (that 
portion below Lake Winnebago), would open a channel of un¬ 
interrupted steam navigation between the Father of Waters 
and the chain of Great Lakes. So important a work as this 
could not long remain unattempted. It did not. Congress 
was petitioned for a grant for the purpose of aiding in the 
execution of the enterprise, and in 1846 donated some 306,- 
039 acres for that purpose; in 1854, by construction of grant, 
109,919 acres more, and in 1855, by a yet more liberal con¬ 
struction, additional acres to the number of 268,909. 
The work was first undertaken by the State, but subsequently 
handed over to the “Fox and Wisconsin Improvement Com¬ 
pany.’’ The canal uniting the two rivers was cut in 1852, and 
in 1856 the locks were so far constructed that navigation on 
the Lower Fox was opened from Green Bay to Lake Winne¬ 
bago. The total eost of the improvements up to 1860, was 
§1,193,933.97; the indebtedness of the company is some 
§160,000, and 440,268 acres of the land still remains unsold. 
With the return of prosperous times, these lands will have a 
ready sale, and then the perfection of this great work of im¬ 
provement will be speedily attained. 
Since 1856, the work has been confined to the Fox, and the 
navigation of the Wisconsin has been practically suspended. 
The construction of side dams at a few points where the chan¬ 
nel is broad and shallow will be required when navigation is 
