Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin

Establishment The Menominee claimed the big rapids in the forest prior to European settlement, with Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk lands nearby. They called the place "Ah-dah-wah-gam" meaning "Two-sided Rapids" because the rapids were split by a large chunk of rock. In 1836, the Menominee ceded this land, along with more land to the east, to the U.S. in the Treaty of the Cedars. This particular land cession was a strip spanning three miles on either side of the Wisconsin River, starting at Point Basse and reaching upstream to Big Bull Falls – the future site of Wausau. The U.S. negotiators pressed the Menominee for this strip before the surrounding lands because it held prime pine timber and was within easy reach of the river. In 1832, Daniel Whitney had built a sawmill downstream, across from modern Nekoosa. Whitney's operation demonstrated the feasibility of rafting lumber to markets downstream. When the treaty of 1836 made the strip along the Wisconsin River available, lumbermen rushed in exploring for mill sites, Some of the boards went into drying piles for local use, but the majority were destined for distant markets like Portage, Dubuque, and St. Louis. These were stacked along the river, then bound into 16 by 16-foot "cribs" of boards. When the river was running well (generally spring) six or seven of these cribs were joined into a "rapids piece" - a 100-foot long, flexible raft suited to running the rocky rapids of the upper Wisconsin River. Of those rapids, Grand Rapids was one of the most dangerous. Before today's placid, flat reservoir, the river surged through a series of rapids a mile long, and rafts had to run when the water was high. In early years that passage was aided by wing dams to focus the current; in later years dams across the river provided chutes for the rafts to plunge down, with spectators watching from the bank. The rafts that succeeded in passing the rapids regrouped at Point Basse and joined three of the rapids-piece rafts side by side into a "Wisconsin raft" for the rest of the Wisconsin River, which was less turbulent. Then at the Mississippi the Wisconsin rafts were joined into huge "Mississippi rafts" for the final leg to Dubuque or St. Louis. In 1848 another treaty with Indians opened most of northern Wisconsin to loggers and settlers, which allowed access to much more timber outside the three-mile strip along the river. In 1857 the first newspaper began publication - the Wood County Reporter. Around 1885 some of the mills at Rapids - formerly sawmills and gristmills - began converting to pulp-grinding and paper-making. By 1902, after many acquisitions, J.D. Witter and Nels Johnson had organized the many mills and water rights under one corporation - Consolidated Water Power Company. They decided to focus their resources on paper-making. The founders both died shortly after, leaving Witter's son-in-law George Mead to manage the new enterprise. The main plant began with 14 pulp-grinders and two papermaking machines, producing 50 tons of paper per day. In 1904 a small purpose-built hospital opened, to take over from the previous location over the Otto drug store; it was replaced in 1916 by the first Riverside Hospital - a 30-bed brick facility. During the Great Depression, Consolidated Papers reduced its work week to four days to share existing work across more workers and avoid layoffs. Consolidated also began producing coated papers more efficiently, with their output used to print Life Magazine. During World War II, many locals volunteered to fight overseas, and some died. Back in Rapids, people grew victory gardens, collected scrap metal for the war effort, and rationed coffee and petroleum. Consolidated adapted to manufacture plastic aircraft materials, and Harvard Clothing made coats for the army. In the 1970s corner groceries were disappearing, replaced by supermarkets. A number of old properties on the west side were torn down and replaced with the new Rapids Mall. The Riverview Expressway was built. Remaining large employers are Riverview Hospital and Renaissance Learning. ==Geography==