Rest Area No. 61, eastbound lane I-94, Menomonie, Dunn County

Here and northeast of here lies the vast Chippewa Valley. At the start of lumbering in Wisconsin, it held one-sixth of the nation's white pine. Surveyors estimated the total pine stand in the State at 136 billion board feet of prime lumber. Lumbermen considered the supply inexhaustible. Chippewa Valley white pine helped build the homes and cities of the corn belt, the great plains, Chicago after its fire. This valley made strong men, record log jams, tall tales, and prosperous cities, all while wast­ing 60 percent of its pine in stumps, slashing, culls, sawdust, slabs, and fires. The harvest here that began in 1838 with 5-foot diameter trucks 160 feet high ended 80 years later taking 5-inch logs. Today the Chippewa Valley is green again with farms and pine. Reforestation began before 1920. Early plantings are now merchantable timber. In time the Chippewa Valley will again stand with mature pine.

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[Source: McBride, Sarah Davis. History Just Ahead (Madison:WHS, 1999).]