Dusting off Some Local History: “Migrating North for Winter”

Lumber stacked on pallets await shipment at the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Company, ca. 1884. Packed lumber yards at the end of the milling season were a common sight in communities across the Chippewa Valley. Image courtesy A.A. Bish Collection, UW-Eau Claire Archives.

By Greg Kocken, Archivist, UW-Eau Claire, Kockeng@uwec.edu

In the late 1800s, during the warm summer months and into the fall, communities across the Chippewa Valley were buzzing (literally) with the sound of sawmills. These mills employed thousands of workers who formed the backbone of several thriving communities. The rhythm of life in the region was anchored by the seasonal changes of the lumber industry. Feeding the mills was timber cut from a stand of white pine stretching across the Chippewa Valley. Lumbermen claimed it was the finest timber in the country.

In the first weeks of November, when temperatures dropped and communities readied for another frigid winter, sawmills hurried to clear and process logs from rivers and lakes to prepare for the next season. Lumber yards filled quickly. The men employed in these mills also prepared for transition. Soon, these men would leave their mills, communities, and families to journey north for employment in logging camps during the cold winter months to harvest a new batch of timber for milling come spring. 

This seasonal transition greatly impacted communities across the region. Long before retailers rejoiced over the crowds of shoppers on Black Friday, area merchants looked toward November as the season to profit from selling winter clothes, blankets, tools, and provisions to outfit lumber camps. Families prepared, too. Thanksgiving often marked the time for loggers to leave friends and family in the area and begin their northward migration to the many logging camps dotting the forests of northern Wisconsin. As the geese flew south, loggers migrated north. This was the steady rhythm of booming lumber towns in nineteenth century Northwest Wisconsin.

In the early 1900s, as the timber stand was depleted, several of these communities would wither and fade just as the white pine had. Today, these ghost towns are largely gone from the landscape, and a new rhythm has taken root in the communities that remain. Is there a local history mystery or topic you want to know more about? Do you have a suggestion for an upcoming column of “Dusting Off?” Please contact Greg at the UW-Eau Claire archives. He would love to hear from you.