Rusk County, WI
Tote Roads Details
101 Tote Road
In the 1870's, the 101 Tote Road was the only land route north of Chippewa Falls along the Flambeau River. The road was reported to be an old Indian trail. The trail extended north from the Flambeau Farm area along the west bank of the Flambeau River. There it crossed the east bank of the Flambeau River, just north of Ladysmith. A branch of the trail eventually went through what is now the city of Ladysmith.
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Battle Slough Tote Road
Battle Slough is located in a back channel off the Flambeau River on the west side, just below the Thornapple Dam. The source of its name came from a fight which broke out between two crews of "river pigs" bringing log drives down river in the summer of 1888.One of the crews let their logs mix with those from a drive on the South Fork of the Flambeau. This crew then followed leisurely behind and let the crew from the South Fork handle the combined log drive. The logs then jammed at Battle Slough.
The two crews met at the logjam, and a fight broke out. The fight, which lasted many hours, involved approximately 150 men. None of the men were killed, but several men were seriously injured. These seriously injured men were taken down river in wannigans to the Shaw Farm. They were then transported over land by stage to a hospital in Chippewa Falls.
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Big Bend House Stopping Place
D. A. Miles operated an early logging camp at the big bend of the Chippewa River. The camp consisted of barns that could accommodate 200 horses and sleeping shanties that could house 300 men. It is thought that this was near the point where the Mississippi River Logging Co. Railroad had its landing. Big Bend House, a stopping place on the Chippewa Tote Road, was located here.
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Bruno Vinette Stopping Place
The main portion of the 101 Tote Road crossed the Flambeau River at a fording place just west of the site of current Tee-A-Way Golf Course in the city of Ladysmith. Bruno Vinette received a land grant from the U.S. Government, and decided to establish a hotel and stopping place southeast of the Tee-A-Way Golf Course. This was one of the first buildings near what is today Ladysmith.Bruno Vinette owned 400 acres on both sides of the Flambeau River. Ferry service was provided, and a bridge later spanned the Flambeau at the fords. In about 1910, this bridge was taken out by an ice jam.
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Burpee's Stopping Place
Burpee's Place was located at Island Lake. This was the location of Elijah Swift's headquarters in the 1860's. This became a stopping place on a later route of the Chippewa Tote Road.
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Chippewa Tote Road
The Chippewa Tote Road was originally an Indian Trail that linked Chippewa Falls with the Lac Court Oreilles Reservation. It was later widened and improved with bridges. The improved road reached Lac Court Oreilles by 1878. The original trail branched off from the Flambeau Settlement and proceeded to the Big Bend. From here, supplies were taken up river in boats. Later the route was changed to come up through the Island Lake area.
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Grand Rapids House Stopping Place
Mr. Cy Pinkham and later Mr. 0. W. Blackburn operated the Grand Rapids House Stopping Place. This stopping place was located on the Chippewa Tote Road. The stopping place consisted of a three-story hotel, saloon, store, two blacksmith shops, several barns which were large enough to accommodate a hundred horses, and large logging supply warehouses. A ferry service, which went across the Chippewa River, was also located at this stopping place.The headquarters for logging operations on the Little and Big Weirgor, Couderay, Brunet, Thornapple, and Chippewa rivers were all located at the Grand Rapids House Stopping Place. At the height of logging operations, the Grand Rapids House Stopping Place provided food and shelter for up to 500 men.
Grand Rapids House Stopping Place was destroyed by fire in the late 1880's
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Hackett Farm Stopping Place
In about 1870, you could find the Hackett Farm Stopping Place along the left bank of the South Fork of the Flambeau River. It was just below the mouth of Skinner Creek. Vegetables and hay were grown on the farm and sold to the camps.
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Ice Road Tote Road
The Bissell Lumber Co. built The Ice Road Tote Road in 1936. This road was built so that logs could be hauled to the mill at Hawkins.
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Johnson's Stopping Place
The (Sam) Johnson Stopping Place was located in what is now Trail's End Camp, north of Bruce. The site is located near the mouth of Devil's Creek. The road entering Trail's End follows the old Chippewa Tote Road. Ferry service across the Chippewa River was provided here, and there was a branch that went to Shaw Dam, which was constructed on the Thornapple River by Daniel Shaw in the 1860's. Indians once inhabited it, and an extensive Indian burying was located on the hillside.In the 1860's there were three stopping places located on the Chippewa Tote Road. This was the lower of two Johnson stopping places. You can still find traces of the spots where the hotel, barns, warehouses and root cellar were located. Pine trees have been planted around the foundation of the original hotel. Sam Johnson was the innkeeper, bartender, postmaster, store keeper, and logger.
Johnson's Stopping Place was the headquarters for timber cruisers in the summer and crews of loggers in the winter. A long wooden bridge spanned Devil's Creek at the site, but flooding of the creek in the spring was an annual problem. Later, the Chippewa Tote Road was re-routed to the west, bypassing the Johnson's Stopping Place. Johnson moved to Bruce after 1884, where he built and operated the Johnson Hotel.
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Knapp-Stout Tote Road
In the 1870's, the Knapp Stout Lumber Co. built a tote through the Red Cedar Valley. Hemlock Creek, which flows into the Red Cedar, was dammed in three places in what is now Rusk County.
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Murry Homestead Stopping Place
The John Murry homestead was located across the Chippewa River from what was to become known as the Murry Settlement (or Old Murry).
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Murry Stopping Place
North of the Grand Rapids House Stopping Place was the Murry Stopping Place. This was purchased by Sever Serley in 1880. In 1888, the three-story structure burned, but Serley built a new one with lumber from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The Serley's operated this stopping place until about 1890. At that time they began logging operations, and then built Serley's camp. The stopping place later became known as the Brainerd Hotel.
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Oak Grove Stopping Place
The Oak Grove Stopping Place was located north of the big bend in Chippewa River. This was to become the Brainerd farm. Ferry service across the Chippewa River was provided here at one time. Later a post office was located at this stopping place, and the settlement was known as Emet.
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Old Ducommun Stopping Place
In the 1870's, this stopping place served as a way station. It was located north of the present Thornapple Dam on the Fritz Ducommun property. Fritz Ducommun, an early logger of the area, is said to be one of the first to erect permanent buildings on the bank of the Flambeau River in Rusk County. His stopping place was near what is now called Ducommun Rapids.
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Serley Camp
In 1890, Sever Serley sold his stopping place and devoted his efforts to logging. At that time, he built a camp west of the Chippewa Tote Road. When he finished logging ten years later, his family decided to continue to stay at the camp. They fixed up one of the old log buildings as a residence, which it remained until 1957.
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Soft Maple House Stopping Place
Soft Maple House Stopping Place was located where the Chippewa Tote Road crossed Soft Maple Creek was located Soft Maple House.
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Tom Kelly's Stopping Place
The Tom Kelley Stopping Place was located on a farm near Amacoy Lake.
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Walker Stopping Place
The Walker Stopping Place was located on the Chippewa Tote Road about five miles up river from Johnson's Stopping Place and two miles down river from the Grand Rapids House Stopping Place.
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