Forest county has an area of about ten hundred and fifty square miles. It is located in the center of the great hardwood belt of the northern half of Wisconsin. The soil generally is a clay loam, making the county one of the most productive section of the great banner state of Wisconsin. No locality offers greater natural advantages to the farmer and settler than this county of Forest. This fact, in connection with actual settlement by farmers and the progress of county road building, will cause land values to double and treble in the next five years. Cut over lands and partly cleared farms can now be bought a prices ranging from $8.00 to $15.00 an acre.

FARM CROPS

   Forest is not a one-crop country. Nothing like a total failure of crops was ever known here. We successfully grow oats, barley, rye, corn, grasses, clover, peas, beans, potatoes, cabbage, beets, roots of all kinds, celery, berries, plums, apples and other small fruits. Several orchards have been planted and are doing well, proving conclusively that apples, such as Wealthy, Duchess, Northwestern Greening, crab apples of all kinds, and plumbs can be grown here successfully.
   A few crop reports for the season of 1911: Four acres of white potatoes yielded 1,200 bushels, or 300 bushels an acre; which, after deducting cost of labor, left a net profit of $172,87 an acre.
   Timothy hay cut two tons and acre (in a rather dry season) at a cost of $2.00 a ton in labor.
   In the season of 1912, 450 crates of strawberries were grown on an acre. They sold at $1.60 a crate, or $800.00 an acre.
 
 

POTATOES

   Forest county potatoes are quoted in the Chicago and Milwaukee markets and command the highest price. During the past two years some of the heaviest dealers in the country have built potato warehouses at various places in the county, and more are contemplated. They will be built as soon as the increased acreage warrants it.
   During the season of 1911 yields of 150 to 300 bushels an acre were common, and quite a number of thirty- and forty-acre fields could be found. The price realized was equal to three and four times the price of the land. This season (1912) the acreage of potatoes in the county has more than trebled. Land is being cleared of stumps, and modern machinery, such as horse planters, sprayers and diggers, are used. All this has a tendency to advance the price of the land.
 

DAIRYING

   This county being one of the best grass-growing sections of the state, it is only natural that dairy farming is one of the most profitable industries. Creameries are being started in various places, and a number of herds of thoroughbred Guernsey, Holstein, Jersey and Shorthorn cattle are owned in the county. The exhibits of full-blood and graded stock at the annual county fair show marked improvement each season, which gives substantial backing to the statement that Forest county soon will rank as one of the leading dairy counties of the state.
 

MARKETS

   Three lines of railroad traverse the county. The Soo Line crosses the county from east to west, bringing us in direct connection by rail and water with the eastern markets, and with Duluth, Saint Paul and Minneapolis on the west. The Chicago and Northwestern taps both the eastern and western sides of the county, giving direct outlets to the great markets of Milwaukee and Chicago. The Wisconsin and Northern railroad, now under construction, will pass through the center of the county, running north and south. These roads afford ideal shipping facilities for farm and factory products. Beside the regular railroads there are a number of private logging railroads, branching out in all directions. These roads are owned by the large lumbering firms, which are interested in assisting the settler to market his products.
 

FISHING

   Forest county is dotted with some of the most beautiful lakes of a state that is famed for its waterways. Among the larger ones are Pine, Pickerel, Silver, Stone, Metonga, Rolling Stone, Rat, Long, Twin, Butternut, Crane, Franklin, Birch and Rice. There are scores of smaller lakes. All of them abound in game fish, including the fighting small-mouth black bass, golden pike, lake trout, pickerel and perch. In the many streams that constitute the headwaters of the Wolf, Pestigo, Menominee and Oconto rivers, brook trout are plentiful. Disciples of Izak Walton find delightful recreation in the lakes and streams of Forest county. On most of the larger lakes are located summer hotels and resorts at which fishermen, hunters and tourists will find good accommodations, and where they can engage guides and boats.
 
 

GOOD ROAD BUILDING

   During the past year Forest county has adopted the state road system, every town in the county having made a special assessment for that purpose. The entire work is being done under state supervision. Several towns, as well as incorporated cities, have bought rock crushers, steam road rollers, graders and other machinery, which is now in use. In a few years this county will have a network of good macadamized highways, constituting one of the best systems in the state. Owning to favorable soil conditions, good roads are easily built and cheaply maintained. They stay built. All this work benefits the farmer directly, as it brings him nearer to market.
 
 

HUNTING

   Every season this section is visited by armies of nimrods from the southern part of the state, and from other states, who always return home with their allotted number of deer. At convenient points in the county hunters will find good hotels for their accommodation. Partridge and other small game are plentiful. Ducks are killed in great numbers on the lakes, where they feed on the wild rice beds.
 
 

CUTOVER LANDS

   In considering these cutover lands it should be understood that they are not devoid of timber. Only the larger timber has been cut off, the smaller trees being left standing. In most cases enough money can be realized from the sale of this remaining timber to pay for the land. There is a ready market, either at the local wood-working mills or for shipment, for poplar, basswood and cedar bolts, ties, poles and posts. Other products of the new land, upon which the settler can safely rely to tide him over the first years of developing his farm, are tamarack, yellow birch, white birch, hemlock and basswood logs. Also there is a steady demand for cordwood, pulpwood and kilnwood, great quantities of which are left on these cutover lands. Every Stick of wood can be marketed. This is a great advantage to the settlers who come to make homes in Forest county.
 
 

SCHOOLS

   We of Forest county feel justly proud of our public schools. The cities and towns are provided with up-to-date school buildings that would be decidedly creditable to any old-settled locality. The aim is to employ on the best teachers. A number of accredited high schools are a part of the county system. In the rural districts ample provision is made to give the settlers children all the advantages of excellent schools. (Some of the schools in 1911 were: Crandon High, North Crandon High, Crandon Rural, Wabeno High, and Leona)
 
 

CHURCHES

   In the county the churches have about kept pace with the schools in the promotions of right conditions. In every community the various denominations are organized, active and efficient. (There were Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, and Presbyterian Churches in Laona and Crandon in 1911)
 
 

INFORMATION

   If you are interested in cutover lands, in farming lands for settlement or investment, or if you are looking for a location for a wood-working industry, a summer hote, or a manufacturing or business enterprise of any sort, it is suggested that you write for further and more particular information to the secretary of any of the organizations here named: Wabeno Commercial Club, Wabeno, Wis.; Crandon Commercial Club, Crandon, Wis.; Crandon Rod and Gun Club, Crandon, Wis.; Organized Sportsmen of Wabeno, Wabeno, Wis.; Forest County Agricultural Society, Crandon, Wis. Any of them will give you promptly and gladly any information relative to Forest county that you may desire.
 
 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURERS

   No section of the country offers better opportunities to manufacturers of wood products than Forest county, which is in the very heart of the great hardwood forest. In clearing his land the settler has timber of all kinds to market, which can be bought at very reasonable figures. Excellent shipping facilities, mentioned elsewhere, must not be forgotten. Besides this, local organizations and land companies offer assistance in securing advantageous sites for the new comer. If you are looking for a factory location, try Forest county.
 
 

FACTS ABOUT FOREST COUNTY