A History of Columbia County Wisconsin

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A 1927 photos reflects the dry-farming style of shocks of wheat. -- McCormick-International Harvester collection

Wisconsin Historical Society, Image #122809

Men thresh wheat July 20, 1921, in a field near Milwaukee. -- Joseph Brown collection

Wisconsin Historical Society, Image #47741

Two men harvest rye in a field in 1900 near Milwaukee with a horse-drawn grain binder. The men are working on the Vogel farm. -- McCormick-International Harvester collection

Wisconsin Historical Society, Image #59959

Four businessmen stand around a table in 1912 eating along the banks of the Wisconsin River. The table is set with a stack of bowls and a crate of apples. Logs and log drivers float along the river. Photographer Dr. Joseph Smith, from the Millard-Smith collection

Wisconsin Historical Society, Image #107812

Creameries in Columbia County, Wisconsin, are listed in 1914.

A History of Columbia County

Cheese Factories are shown in Columbia County, Wisconsin, in 1914.

A History of Columbia County

E.E. Jones, 1914

The settlers of Columbia County have always been largely engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and of late years their dairy industries have assumed the greater importance. This fact is fully realized when figures of more than 30 years ago are compared with those of 1914, which have just become accessible in April. In 1879, for instance, there were more than 69,000 acres of wheat grown in the county, fairly well distributed between the twos. In 1914 there are less than 2,000. Even in the former year the yield of wheat was deteriorating, the new Northwest beyond the Mississippi rising rapidly into prominence as the coming granary.