History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: Its cities, towns, resources, people

              516 HISTOEY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
ter of a million dollars. Frequent shipments are ^made to foreign countries.
Three wholesale grocery houses carry stocks valued at $150,- 000 and do a business of about $900,000 yearly.
The three railroads centering at Oshkosh do a large business. Thirty-two passenger trains and forty-eight freight trains arrive and depart daily from Oshkosh. In 1907 the city shipped out 17,215 carloads of manufactured products. The daily cash re¬ ceipts of these railroads is $6,900, the yearly receipts aggregat¬ ing more than $2,000,000.
The volume of business done in the retail dry goods houses of Oshkosh last year in dry goods exclusively reached a total of $850,000. The retail grocery stores, numbering ninety, did a business of about a million and a quarter. Oshkosh in 1907 consumed 20,000 tons of hard coal and 30,000 tons of soft coal, valued at about $300,000.
Oshkosh today is a modern, up-to-date cityT—very different from the pioneer lumber town where people used to go "to have fun with the boys." Instead of plank roads the three great trunk lines of the state enter our city, and we have in addition interurban lines which connect us with surrounding cities. In¬ stead of ferries, fine bridges span our river. The volunteer com¬ pany has gone and a most efficient fire department has taken its place. A magnificent system of waterworks supplements our fire department and furnishes our citizens with an abundant supply of pure water. The ox team of the pioneer is no longer seen upon our streets, but over broad thoroughfares, paved with macadam, brick and asphalt, pass fine carriages, automobiles and electric cars. Even the horse railroad has come and gone and the electric railway with interurban connections has taken its place. Electricity furnishes light to our business houses and streets and power to our industries. Our homes are heated and lighted with gas. Fine public buildings, handsome churches and beautiful homes adorn our city. The magnificent public library above referred to has superseded the humble institution which existed at the birth of our city. Our system of public schools is one of the finest in the state, and with the Normal school located in Oshkosh the educational advantages of our citizens are unsurpassed. For recreation and rest our citizens have attractive and beautiful parks. The stores of our mer¬ chants are noted throughout northern Wisconsin. Our manu¬ facturing industries are prosperous and flourishing and supply