LANGLADE COUNTY HAS A RICH HERITAGE,
ROOTED DEEPLY IN THE PIONEER SPIRIT.
The county is located in the northern
section of Wisconsin where the last glacier deposited terminal
moraines, eskers, erratic boulders, silt loam, lakes, rivers and deep
forests – a unique geology like no other in the state. Prior to the
mid-1800’s, Native Americans were the only inhabitants plus a few
European fur traders and trappers who began traveling the wilderness
in the 1600’s. These traders followed a centuries old route from the
Fox River at Green Bay that ran along the Wolf River to the copper
area of Lake Superior. Traders along the Lake Superior Trail,
including “Old Dutch Frank,” and George Gardner, who had posts at
Lily and White Lake in the 1860’s, were among the area’s early
European settlers. West of the present-day city of Antigo, Willard
LeRoy Ackley set up a trading post on the Eau Claire River in about
1850, encouraging future growth. Settlement was further spurred
by the U.S. Government, which in the 1860’s built a road to
transport military forces from Fort Howard in Green Bay to Fort
Wilkins on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Antigo, Train Depot
The trail, known as
The Military Road, opened up a vast expanse of the Wolf River country
and became a virtual highway to the Northwood’s.
The Society is entirely
self-supporting and is an
Affiliate of the Wisconsin State
Historical Society. We
Depend upon financial gifts to sustain
this important
Cultural institution.
New Members are always welcome. For
more information
About joining the Society click on
membership or write to:
Langlade County Historical Society,
P.O. Box 219
404 S. Superior St.
Antigo, Wi 54409
