Tourism in Wisconsin
The growth of cities in the mid-19th century coincided with a romantic interest in nature to produce a new recreational activity known as tourism. Affluent citizens escaped urban life by travelling by railroad to scenic locations where a new class of hotel keepers and other merchants catered to their needs. Wisconsin Dells was one of the state's earliest tourist destinations, but by the end of the 19th century hunting lodges in the north woods and summer communities on inland lakes had also become popular. In the early 20th century, the growth of automobile ownership and a system of state trunk highways encouraged the growth of the tourism industry
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