A Standard History of Waupaca County, Wisconsin. An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial, Educational, Civic and Social Development.

              HISTORY OP AVAUPACA COUNTY 135
"There were stations, or stopping places, establislied every twenty-five or thirty miles for tlie accommodation of travelers amd exchange of horses. Later, a man by the name of Robinson, of Lake Superior, took tlie contract for carrying the mails. Soon after this road, was cut through, it became quite a thoroughfart^ for traific through to Lake Superior, there being a great immy cattle driven uj) to the nnnes for consumption, as well as other i)roduce shipped by teams during the wdnter season. The military road, commenced in 1864 or 1865, followed tliis road through to Rocklaiid.    ^    ^    ^
"The Alilwavdcec, Lake Shore & AVestern Railroad, now the Ashland division of tlie Chicago & Northwestern, started building from Alilwau¬ kee in the early '70s, the line extending along the shore of Lake Aiichigan and toucliing at the then small places, Campbellsport, AlanitoAvoc and Sheboygan. The road w^as put into commission as far as A]){)leton in the summer of 1876. Then the line was extended west and. norih, (liirougli Waupaca county) to Eland Junction. Thence a branch was put in lo Wausau, reaching that city in the summer of 1880. In the fall of that year the road commenced its main line from Eland Junction to Ash¬ land.    *    *    '^'
"This road was parallel to the Wisconsin Central, or present Soo line, and opened up a large territory that has been a decidedly valuable asset of northern Wisconsin. Tlie road extended through the village of Marion, in the northeastern part ^f Waupaca county, at that time made up of a few boarding houses, a hotel and a few stores, and continued through a heavy forest devoid of any habitation or community excep)t Antigo. After the railroad was built to that place, Alessrs. Alellar and Hoxie, of New Ijondon, did an extensive lumbering business. J. H. Weed, of Oshkosli, built a saw mill and Hoxie and Mellar furnished logs for several years to keep his mill operating."
Thus it was that New London was experiencing its second period of prosperity under the later sway of the railroads. But now, for these many years, Waupaca, Weyauwega, Clintonville, and other sections of the county which do,not even have well-defined centers of population, have aderpiate railroad transportation. AIucli has also been accomplished in the improvement of the roads of the county—gravel, macadam, etc.— so that both urban and rural communities are in close and desirable com¬ munion.