As the logging enterprises
expanded, fast and dependable transportation became a necessity for the
frontier. River traffic was slow and the amount of cargo the boats
could transport was limited. The Omaha Railway began construction
of the Park Falls division from Rice Lake in 1901. The railroad reached
Radisson in 1905 and ushered in a short period of prosperity.
After the plans of the Omaha
Railway were made known, a building boom started. A land office,
a saloon, boarding house, and a livery stable were in operation before
the railroad reached Radisson. Shortly after the railroad was in
operation, the Radisson Hardwood Lumber Company was established and began
operations late in 1903.
The original plan of the
Omaha Railroad was to build a terminal near the confluence of the Couderay
and Chippewa Rivers. This land was owned by the Arpin Lumber Company,
and consequently, the railroad officials were hesitant about compromising
with the Arpin Lumber Co. Mr. O. O. Whited persuaded the railroad
to change its course and build the depot at the site where the present
station stands. This accounts for the village being located where
it is now, in a low, swampy area, instead of being in the hilly area near
the Chippewa River.
Immediately after the arrival
of the railroad, Mr. Whited held a public auction of building lots.
Many lots were sold, most of them having been located north of the railroad.
Homes were built quickly to provide shelter for the families of the millworkers
and for the workers employed by the vaious businesses of the community.
In 1904 Mr. Whited built
a house for his family near the Couderay River. This house is still
standing and is owned by Ralph Grimh, a partner in the Grimh Power Company.
In the year of 1907 Mr. Whited built the sturcture known today as the Bank
Building. It was contemplated that this building was to be used for
a store and a bank, with apartments on the second floor. Mr. Herman
Madsen leased the store section and established a general merchandising
business in 1908.
At the time the Radisson
Lumber Company was organized at Radisson in 1903, it was predicted that
there was enough timber to supply the mill for twenty years. The
mill owners made a good start in the fall of 1903, but because of mis-management,
were force into bankruptcy in the spring of 1904.
In the summer of 1904 a
gentleman by the name of Mr. Melville came to Radisson and purchased the
sawed lumber in the yard and the sawmill, equipment, and timber holdings.
He organized the business under the name of the Radisson Hardwood Lumber
Company and immediately began to cut logs and saw lumber. Logs were
cut in such large quantities that the local sawmill could not keep up and
four and five train loads of logs were shipped daily to Rice Lake and other
cities which had sawmills. This pace continued for four years when
all of the hardwood logs were processed. The Radisson Hardwood Lumber
Company closed its business in 1908, leaving the community to solve its
own dilemma - to live or die. Had the company saved the timber for
its own mill, rather than contracting it to jobbers, it could have operated
successfully for many years.
A few of the lumberjacks
bought land near the village and began farming, while others left the village
and found employment in other communities having sawmills. Radisson
was now in a transition period - from logging to farming.
The establishment of profitable
farming was slow and very difficult. Only the most diligent and ambitious
farmer could be successful because the clearing of land was very strenuous
work. The huge pine stumps had to be grubbed out or blasted out with
dynamite. The soil in the vicinity of Radisson is well suited to
agriculture but the growing season is too short for many crops. Hay,
small grains, and early maturing varieties of corn can be grown successfully.
The average frost-free period is from June 1st to September 1st.
There have been years when this are has experienced killing frosts in every
month of the year. Dairy farming is the most profitable type of agriculture
pursued in this region.
In 1909 there was a definite
need for a school. A site was selected on a hill on the north side
of the village where a four room brick school was built. In the beginning
only the first floor was finished and used. As the population increased,
additional school facilities were necessary and the second floor was completed
and put into use. The building continues to serve the village today
as an elementary school.
War threats bring about
agricultural expansion and that is what happened to Radisson. More
farmers bought land and more land was put into cultivation during the period
from 1915 to 1925. World War I brought prosperity to Radisson.
Where local business transactions are brisk, financial services are demanded.
This was true in 1917, consequently, the Chippewa Valley Bank was established
with Mr. Henry LeBeau in charge. The bank operated successfully since
it was founded, and all credit for its solvency during the devastating
depression of the 1930's, is due to Mr. LeBeau, who is an intelligent,
efficient, and shrewd banker. He continuously managed the bank until
his retirement in 1950.
The soil at Radisson was
particularly adapted to the cultivation of potatoes. Extensive potato
growing flourished during the 1920's. A warehouse was built near
the depot for the storage until the market was favorable for shipment to
the large cities. This business closed in 1930 when the price paid
for potatoes was below the freight charges. The warehouse has been
remodeled and enlarged, and is now converted into a feed mill and farm
supply store.
The second growth timber
on the hills north of Radisson reached merchantable size early in the 1930's.
Walter's Brothers purchased this timber and built a sawmill in Radisson
in 1936. During the decade following this company operated its own
logging camps in the winter and sawed the logs into lumber during the summer.
Walters Brothers continue to operate a sawmill and planing mill, although
they depend upon local farm timber tracts for materials. Their chief
product is hardwood lumber although a large quantity of first quality hardwood
logs are shipped by rail to veneer mills.
The ethnology of Radisson
is interesting and deserves some attention. The predominant nationalities
are Swedish, Norwegian and Polish. The Scandinavians who live in
the area are descendants of immigrants who came to Sawyer County in the
early logging days. Most of these people settle on tracts of land
in the southeast part of the Township along the Chippewa River.
The Polish people did not
arrive in any appreciable numbers until 1916. The Wisconsin Colonization
Company set up an office in Radisson and did extensive advertising in Polish
newspapers in large cities, such as Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York.
Most of the interested people were recent immigrants who had recently arrived
from Poland. They were rural people by nature, who loved the soil,
and soon tired of city life. The Wisconsin Colonization Company hired
salesmen of Polish extraction to visit the immigrant in the city and create
a beautiful word picture of the utopian opportunities in agriculture in
Sawyer County. Railroad fare was paid for any man who was interested.
This campaign was promoted in the wintertime when the snow was deep so
the prospect couldn't see the rocks and stumps. He usually signed
a land contract or purchased a forty-acre tract and was given a deed to
the property. When they returned in the spring to erect homes and
farm buildings and to cultivate their "garden spots", they were amazed
to find the land unsuitable for plowing and planting. Most of them
tried to farm for a year or two, and after their savings were exhausted,
became disillusioned and discouraged and left their farms and returned
to the city. A few of the more courageous and hardy remained, and
after years of gruelling hand labor, have developed valuable farms which
are passing into the hands of their children. The Polish people settled
in two distinct areas -- the southwest and the northeast corners of the
Township.
The community known as Radisson
was a part of the Township of Radisson. In 1952 the settlement called
Radisson was incorporated as a village.
Transportation facilities
are good. The Omaha Railroad operates a freight train daily.
The Crandell Transfer operates a truck freight line from Ladysmith twice
a week, making connections with truck lines from all major cities.
Highways 27, 40 and 70 pass through the township and village of Radisson.
