Back in the beginnings of our young country, hunters were looked at with great favor; bear hunters were revered. Folk heroes like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett are examples. Both led interesting lives and both did several other things than hunt, but their legendary personas grew out of hunting, especially hunting bear. Around that time, rendered down bear fat, known as bear grease, was exchanged

The construction of the Wisconsin Central Railway began in 1871 with designs to build tracks that would span the 250 miles from Menasha to Ashland. The contract for this construction was held by the Phillips and Colby Construction Co. which then subcontracted it ut to other companies. In early 1872, the project had reached north of Stevens Point and by September of that year, the work had reached

A discussion of Colby’s history would be remiss without mention of the cheese that bears the same name as the city. Invented in an area cheese factory in the 1880’s, Colby cheese has become a symbol of the city as its popularity and acclaim grew over the decades that followed, it served as a mark of the ingenuity and dairy farming roots of the community where it was first created. The origins

The City of Abbotsford has long been a hub of industry in central Wisconsin. Its many product manufacturers have a rich history within the city and have helped build it into what it is today. Before the industry arrived, Native American tribes occupied the land. The land mostly consisted of a dense forested area which included terrain and trees such as pine, hemlock, hardwood and swampland. The first

The beginning of the public school system in Abbotsford goes back to 1873 when the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company extended its line into what is now Abbotsford and a few settlers formed a community. School was first held in a small room on Main Street in the year 1879 or 1880. Rapid growth of the community made it essential that larger and more permanent facilities for conducting school be provided.

On March 18, 1920, four years after the National Defense Act of 1916, Company B, 1st Bn, Support Train was activated in the village of Abbotsford. The calvary unit, under the command of Lt. Oakley L. Parkhill, recruited its personnel from a community of just over 700. It is believed that at this time, Abbotsford was the smallest community in the nation to support a full time NG unit. Locker space