HUMAN (SOCIOECONOMIC) ENVIRONMENT

HISTORY OF THE LOCAL STUDY AREA

Fur traders were among the earliest non-native American resident settlers
of the Local Study Area
(Forest, Langlade and Oneida Counties), arriving in the 1850's. The financial
panic of 1857 and the
Civil War (1861-1865), however, slowed the exploration and settlement of
northern Wisconsin.
Following the Civil War, federal subsidization of a military road from Green
Bay to Ft. Wilkins in the
Upper Peninsula brought settlers and money to the region. Between 1860 and
1890 the growth of the
Wisconsin pine lumber industry increased dramatically. During the 1870' s,
loggers and sawmill
operators moved into Pelican Rapids (Rhinelander) and Lily. During the 1890
' s Wisconsin became the
nation' s largest supplier of pine. The introduction of the railroads and
portable sawmills into the
pinery replaced log driving streams and ushered in a new wave of development.
Once the pine had
been cut, the hardwood and hemlock trees were exploited. Hardwood logging
led to yet another wave
of economic development in the local study area and encouraged the establishment
of a wood
products industry in the region.

After the pine and much of the hardwood had been harvested, farmers settled
on low-priced cut-over
lands. As a result, the population of Oneida, Langlade, and Forest Counties
rose rapidly. The
population of Oneida County jumped from 8,875 in 1900 to 13,996 in 1920,
with Rhinelander
accounting for about half of the total. In Langlade County, the population
increased from 685 in 1880
to 12,553 in 1900 and by 1920 reached 21,471. The population of Forest County
jumped from 1,396 in
1900 to 9,850 in 1920. Most farmers, however, did not prosper; after the
end of World War I,
agricultural prices declined and two decades of agricultural depression followed.
In 1935, the
Wisconsin Isolated Settlers Project relocated farmers from 9,948 acres in
the Crandon area. Despite
the failure of many farms during the 1920 ' s and 1930 ' s, agriculture continues
to be an important
source of employment in the local study area. Areas suitable for agriculture
are concentrated in
Langlade and Oneida Counties where dairy farming and potato growing predominate.'
Today, 70% of
the seed potatoes grown in Wisconsin are cultivated in Langlade County.

After 1925, reforestation was encouraged as the basis of future land use
policy. The Forest Crop Law
(1927) and the granting of authority to restrictively zone the cut-over (1929)
helped limit the influx
of farmers into areas unsuited for agriculture. These laws also provided
incentives for timber
landowners not to abandon their properties. The federal government also helped
the state promote
and undertake reforestation projects, and in 1933 created the Nicolet National
Forest. State forests
were established during this period and state subsidies for improving county
forests and recreation
also were granted.

Pulpwood for papermaking increasingly utilized spruce and balsam until a
scientific breakthrough in
the late 1930' s allowed poplar/aspen to be used for pulp. Poplar flourishes
on the cut-over pine lands
and remains a vital resource in the area. Poplar pulp assured the economic
viability of reforestation
from a commercial-industrial perspective.

Reforestation lead to increases in tourism as recreational opportunities
'expanded. Tourism became
the economic backbone of the area during the 1920 ' s and by 1930 tourism
provided larger tax
revenues than agriculture. Although growth was limited during World War II,
the area attracted new
waves of recreation enthusiasts during the 1950 's. To date, the area has
remained attractive for
recreationists, cottage owners, and retired persons.

Depopulation of the Local Study Area during the 1920' s was reversed during
the 1930 ' s and the
population reached new heights by 1940. Though the population of the three-county
area continued
to grow through the 1960's, the increase only amounted to 1,768 persons in
total for an average rate
of increase of 0.3% per year. A gradual decline in the number of working
age people, however,



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