North Woods River

by McMahon, Eileen M.

• ISBN13: 9780299234249
• ISBN10: 029923424X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-10-20
• Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Summary

The St. Croix River, the free-flowing boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota, is a federally protected National Scenic Riverway. The arears"s first recorded human inhabitants were the Dakota Indians, whose lands were transformed by fur trade empires and the loggers who called it the "river of pine." A patchwork of farms, cultivated by immigrants from many countries, followed the cutover forests. Today, the St. Croix River Valley is a tourist haven in the land of sky-blue waters and a peaceful escape for residents of the bustling MinneapolisSt. Paul metropolitan region. North Woods Riveris a thoughtful biography of the river over the course of more than three hundred years. Eileen McMahon and Theodore Karamanski track the riverrs"s social and environmental transformation as newcomers changed the river basin and, in turn, were changed by it. The history of the St. Croix revealed here offers larger lessons about the future management of beautiful and fragile wild waters.

Author Biography

Eileen McMahon is assistant professor of history at Lewis University. Theodore Karamanski is professor of history at Loyola University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 3
Valley of Plenty, River of Conflict	p. 10
The Dakota and Their Neighbors	p. 12
French Fur Traders on the St. Croix	p. 21
The Origins of the Dakota-Ojibwe War	p. 24
English Fur Traders on the St. Croix	p. 29
A Social History of the Fur Trade in the St. Croix Valley	p. 33
The Ecological Impact of the Fur Trade	p. 43
The American Fur Company Era	p. 46
Dakota-Ojibwe Relations during the American Era	p. 47
The Treaties of 1837	p. 56
Strangers on the Land: The St. Croix Indians in the Settlement Era	p. 60
River of Pine	p. 73
From Fur Trade to Fir Trade	p. 75
Frontier Logging: Life in the Forest	p. 79
Frontier Logging: The Importance of Waterpower	p. 85
The St. Croix Boom Company	p. 92
Industrial River	p. 95
The Log Drives	p. 98
A River Jammed with Logs	p. 102
Industrial Logging	p. 105
Corporate Control of the St. Croix	p. 111
The Failure of Government Regulation of the St. Croix Pinery	p. 120
Fire in the Forest	p. 123
The Last Days of the Lumber Frontier	p. 127
The Impact of Logging on the St. Croix Valley	p. 133
ôThe New Landö: Settlement and Agriculture	p. 139
Dividing the Valley	p. 139
Farmers and the Repopulation of the Valley	p. 150
The Swedish Frontier	p. 160
Land Speculation and Growing Pains	p. 163
The Civil War Years in the St. Croix Valley	p. 170
The Farming Frontier Moves up the Valley	p. 172
Railroads: Regional Rivalry and Growth	p. 175
From Wheat to Dairy Farming	p. 180
Farming the Cutover	p. 188
Up North: The Development of Recreation in the St. Croix Valley	p. 211
Steamboats and the ôFashionable Tourö	p. 213
Railroads and the Growth of Tourism	p. 220
Hunting, Fishing, and Tourism	p. 226
Interstate Park and the Last Stand of the Steamboat Men	p. 231
Dam the St. Croix!	p. 241
Sportsmen on the Upper St. Croix	p. 244
Government Conservation and the Invention of the North Woods	p. 252
Return of the Tourist	p. 261
Dam the St. Croix, Again	p. 265
Saving the St. Croix	p. 268
Notes	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 309
Index	p. 323
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.