A.S. Trow Co. Siding Traditional Geocache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This cache is within the Clark County Forest and near others within the Levis and Trow Mound Trail System Area.
Logging, the rail road and unique geological features are historical factors in this area. The cache is near one of the largest remaining white pines in Clark County and likely a surviver of the logging boom of the early 1900s. This location is within a siding of the A.S. Trow Lumber Co. and fill taken from this location was used to build the rail road bed to Neillsville, 12 miles to the east. What follows is a little known history of the Trow Logging camp and operation.
The A. S. Trow Company was the last one to operate on the Black River, by acquiring rights of the old Improvement Company and sawed “deadheads,” pier logs, boom-sticks and other wood products, until 1906. When the end of the white pine became a mathematical certainty, operators began looking for large tracts of pine in other states.
"In the course of his rambles the other day, our reporter found himself at the mill of Wakefield, Trow & Co. and after looking around some, accepted the invitation of Mr. J.L. Barker to accompany him up to the camps, something over four miles, on the engine used for hauling logs. Climbing up into the cab we were soon under way, through the lumber yards, and into the pine woods. On every side were great heaps of logs and empty skids from which the logs had been hauled into the mill. We arrived at the camp (Located at the present corner of Gorman Ave. and Rouse Rd.) in a short time, the empty cars were set off on a side track, and a train quickly made up of loaded ones. And then the journey homeward was begun, the engine snorting and the dense pine woods sending back the echoes. The mill was quickly reached again, and the logs dumped in the pond, the round trip being made in one hour and thirty five minutes, including stoppages for wood and water. This firm has the best thing out for hauling logs, greatly superior to either horses on a tram road, or horses with sleds and snow. The outlay for the engine is less than horses to do the same work would cost, and the expense of operating is considerable less. The firm think their present supply of timber will keep their mill running about twelve years. The cut of the mill is about 35,000 per day, employing in all capacities from 60 to 70 men. " (Note: This mill was located southeast of Merrillan at Trow Lake, but the pinery they travel into was in the Town of Dewhurst. This logging road was built in 1878 and attempts have been made in the past to find proof that it was actually a railroad with iron rails and not strap rails. If this could be proven, it would be recognized as Wisconsin's first logging railroad.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
pnpur ybpngrq fbhgu jrfg bs gur ynetr juvgr cvar ba gur Tbng Qnapr genvy.