Editing Goodrich, Wisconsin (section)

==History==
The dells of the Big Rib River in Goodrich are probably the rapids where [[René Menard|Father René Menard]] disappeared in 1661, while attempting to reach a band of [[Hurons|Huron Indians]] near the headwaters of the [[Black River (Wisconsin)|Black River]]. He left his partner at the rapids to carry some supplies and was never seen again.<ref>Schmirler, A. A. A., [http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/wmh&CISOPTR=22009&CISOSHOW=21949&REC=1 "Wisconsin's Lost Missionary: The Mystery of Father Rene Menard"], ''The Wisconsin Magazine of History'', Volume 45, number 2, winter, 1961-1962.</ref>

The south and east edges of the six by six mile square that would become Goodrich were first [[Surveying|surveyed]] in 1851 by crews working for the U.S. government. In December 1861 a different crew of surveyors marked all the [[Section (United States land surveying)|section corners]] in the [[survey township|township]], walking through the woods and swamps, measuring with [[Gunter's chain|chain]] and [[Solar compass|compass]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Land Survey Information|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/SurveyNotes/SurveyInfo.html|publisher=Board of  Commissioners of Public Lands|accessdate=May 31, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Field Notes for T31N R3E|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=PLSS&twp=T031NR003E|work=Original Field Notes and Plat Maps, 1833-1866|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|accessdate=May 31, 2011}}</ref> When done, the deputy surveyor filed this general description:
<blockquote>''The surface of this Township is mostly gently rolling and the Soil is principally 2nd Rate being well adapted to agricultural purposes. The Timber is a mixture of [[Tsuga canadensis|Hemlock]] [[Betula alleghaniensis|Birch]] [[Sugar maple|Sugar]] (?) [[Abies balsamea|Fir]] and [[Maple]]. There is but little Swamp land in the Township but it is well watered by numerous small streams of pure water which are tributaries of the [[Big Rib River|Rib River]] which (?) through the Township in a South Easterly direction. It is a Stream that does not overflow having but few tributaries(?) to affect its rise and fall. There are no settlers in this Township.''<ref>{{cite web|last=Daugherty|first=William E|title=Interior Field Notes (Dec. 1861)|url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=article&byte=2148552&isize=L&twp=T031NR003E|publisher=Board of Commissioners of Public Lands|accessdate=6 June 2011}}</ref></blockquote>

Around 1873 the [[Wisconsin Central Railroad (1871–1899)|Wisconsin Central Railroad]] built its line up through the forest that would become [[Medford, Wisconsin|Medford]], heading for [[Ashland, Wisconsin|Ashland]]. To finance this undertaking, the railroad was granted half the land for eighteen miles on either side of the track laid - generally the odd-numbered sections.<ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Roy L.|title=History of the Wisconsin Central (Bulletin No. 54)|date=January 1941|publisher=The Railroad and Locomotive Society, Inc.|location=Baker Library, Harvard Business School|pages=41–42}}</ref>

An 1880 map of the area shows some sort of road entering what would become Goodrich from the Medford side, following the course of modern [[Wisconsin Highway 64|Highway 64]] for two miles, then angling south into Marathon County.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dahl|first=Ole Rasmussen|title=Map of Chippewa, Price & Taylor Counties and the northern part of Clark County|year=1880|publisher=The Milwaukee Litho & Engr Co.|location=Milwaukee, Wisconsin|url=http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/maps/id/1046/rec/3|access-date=December 7, 2023}}</ref>

A map from around 1900 showed one road following the course of 64 for a few miles, and two other roads along the southwest corner of the town. The map showed five settlers' homesteads along these roads. Otherwise, Goodrich had no roads or settlers. In contrast, lands nearer the railroad at Medford, [[Stetsonville, Wisconsin|Stetsonville]] and [[Chelsea (CDP), Wisconsin|Chelsea]] were fully settled by this time. Much of the unsettled part of this town was held in large blocks, with the largest owners P.A. Merino in the north, H.B. Claflin in the east, and G. Stout in the south. By this time, the Wisconsin Central railroad had sold off most of its odd-numbered sections, but still held some smaller blocks.<ref>{{cite book|last=Queary|first=O.K.|title=Map of Taylor County, Wisconsin|date=1900|publisher=Bogk & Rowland|location=Milwaukee, Wis.|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/1568|access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref><ref name=Delorme>{{cite book|title=Wisconsin Atlas and Gazetteer|date=1999|publisher=DeLorme|location=Yarmouth, Maine|page=74|edition=6th}}</ref>

When Taylor County was formed in 1875, the six-mile square that would become Goodrich was part of a larger Town of Medford, which spanned the county east to west. In 1895 Browning and Goodrich were split off into a 12-mile-wide town called Browning. In 1903 the town of Goodrich was split out on its own.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ruesch|first=H.O.|editor-last=Kalmon|editor-first=Lars|title=Taylor County Historical Sketch|date=January 2012|publisher=Taylor County History Project|page=8}}</ref>

[[File:Goodrich center Taylor County Wisconsin.jpg|thumb|Remnants of the community of Goodrich, facing east on highway 64]]
The 1911 plat map shows the roads extended, with more settlers along them. The predecessor of highway 64 had been extended another mile to a community of Goodrich, with a sawmill and a school on the map, and a railroad entering from the south.<ref name=Paetzold>{{cite book|last=Paetzold|first=C.H.|title=Map of Taylor County|date=1911|publisher=C. Paetzold and Koehler Land Company|location=Medford, Wis.|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/20296|access-date=December 8, 2023|chapter=Plat map of T31N R3E}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Medford, Westboro, Lublin, Goodrich|date=1913|publisher=Geo. A. Ogle & Co.|location=Chicago|url=https://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/36907/Medford++Westboro++Lublin++Goodrich/Taylor+County+1913/Wisconsin/|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref> That railroad was [[William H. Upham#Postbellum career|Upham Manufacturing]]'s logging line coming up from [[Athens, Wisconsin|Athens]], by 1911 owned by the Copper River Land Co.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ruesch|first=Gordon|editor-last=Kalmon|editor-first=Lars|title=Taylor County Logging and Lumbering|date=January 2012|publisher=Taylor County History Project|page=26}}</ref> Another wagon road followed the course of Martin Road north from 64 to the town line, with shorter roads branching off to the west. Settlers were filling in along all these. Another rural school had appeared along the south boundary of the town. Large chunks still remained unsettled, mostly owned by the Rib River Land Co.<ref name=Paetzold/>