Turtle Lake, Scott's Siding, Cosgrove, Barron, the county seat, Cameron and Canton, are on the Minneapolis, Soo Ste. Marie & Atlantic railroad.
Chetek, Cameron Junction, Rice Lake and Bear Creek are located on the Omaha branch.
Charles Simeon Taylor.—Mr. Taylor was born in Geneva, Wisconsin, October, 1851; graduated at the Wisconsin State University; studied law and settled at Barron, Barron county, in 1876, where he practices his profession and edits the Barron County Shield. He was elected member of the Thirty-seventh Wisconsin assembly in 1885-86 and represented the counties of Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, and Washburn.
CHAPTER IX.
ASHLAND, BAYFIELD AND DOUGLAS COUNTIES.
ASHLAND COUNTY.
Ashland was originally a part of Crawford county, afterward of St. Croix and La Pointe, and was set off from the latter March 27, 1860. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior and Montreal river, on the east by Oneida, on the south by Price and Chippewa, and on the west by Bayfield and Chippewa counties. It includes townships 41 to 47, ranges 1, 2, and 3 east of the fourth principal meridian, and townships 41 to 48 west of the same; the northern towns bordering on Montreal river and Lake Superior are fractional. The group of Apostle islands belongs to this county. The surface is generally level except where broken by the iron and copper ranges in the middle and southern part of the county. The Gogebic range, southeast of Ashland, is especially rich in iron. A railroad along this range connects Ashland with the Michigan roads. The soil is somewhat varied, ranging from sandy loam in the interior, to red clay on the lake shore. The county is drained by Bad, White and Montreal rivers and their tributaries, and the headwaters of the Chippewa. The timber is pine, fir, birch, etc.
The Apostle islands, situated in Lake Superior at the mouth of Chequamegon bay, form a fine natural harbor. The group consists of twenty-two islands, the most considerable of which are Madeline, Oatez, Oak, Hemlock, Rice, Basswood, Presque, Bear, Sand, and Michigan. The islands range in area from a very few acres up to 14,804. They are heavily timbered with hardwood, have fertile soil, and are well adapted to farm and garden culture. The largest of these islands is Madeline, situated directly at the entrance to Chequamegon bay, and noted as containing the oldest settlement on the lake. Claude Allouez, a Jesuit missionary, landed at Madeline island Oct. 1, 1665, and erected a bark chapel at the place now known as La Pointe, and commenced instructing the Indians of the Algonquin and Huron tribes. Since that time the island has been held by missionaries and trading companies, with some pretty long intervals of abandonment. In 1800, M. Cadot, a French trader, came to La Pointe, erected fortified dwellings and lived here till his death, in 1837. At the commencement of the present century the American Fur Company made its headquarters on the southern part of the island, and occupied a post there until 1835, when they removed to La Pointe. Rev. Sherman Hall, of the Presbyterian church, established a mission here in 1830. In 1835 Rev. Father Baraga, a Catholic missionary, arrived, and built a church which he occupied until 1841, when he built a better one, which still stands in the inclosure of an ancient burying ground. This church contains a painting said to be over two hundred years old. Some of the graves are quite ancient, and have quaint inscriptions upon their tombstones. One that has often been copied and commented on by tourists is as follows: