There was no city in the State that was more interested in the lumber business than La Crosse.  The majority of the wealthy citizens of La Crosse were engaged in the lumber trade.  These facts sufficiently demonstrate what a great market was opening up here and how important it is to push forward to completion railroad enterprises.

The Lumber business was of great importance to La Crosse during the mid-nineteenth century.  As the center and pivot of the extensive timber and lumber operations, that transform trees into buildings and fences, La Crosse uses, manufactures, distributed and exported over two hundred and fifty million feet of pine annually.1

1.  Consul Willshire Butterfield, History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881),603-604.

La Crosse breweries have always been one of the moat important local industries. In 1884, La Crosse produced more beer than any other city in the state. There are several reasons why breweries prospered in La Crosse. The most important of these was La Crosse’s ideal location, midway between Milwaukee and St. Paul. Another reason was that all the resources needed for the brewing of beer could be found nearby—water from the Mississippi River, grains and cereals from area farmers, and a steady demand from local residents. In addition, the city’s large German population and its heritage contributed to the growth of the industry in La Crosse.

During the mid to late nineteenth century there were several well established breweries in the area, including The Nicolai Brewery, The John Gund Brewery, The City Brewery, and the Zeisler’s Brewery.1

1. Steven Michael Baier, History of the Brewing Industry in La Crosse (1776), 1.

The first railroad to enter La Crosse was the La Crosse & Milwaukee Railroad, which opened in October, 1858. By 1876, when the Chicago, Burlington & Northern Railroad opened, railroads connected La Crosse to Chicago, St. Paul, and St. Louis. Frequently the work of construction was begun before adequate means were provided, and bankruptcy overtook the roads in their early stages.  Many railroads, thereafter, were built with foreign capital.1

The residents of La Crosse began to feel that the day was not far distant when they should be in daily communication with the rest of mankind and when the city would assume a virtuous position among the cities of Wisconsin.2

1. Illustrated: Historical, Picturesque, Descriptive (Art Pub. Co., 1887), Part 4, page 5.

2. Consul Willshire Butterfield, History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881), 585.

The banks of La Crosse were controlled by residents, as are all enterprises of importance in the city.1  

The Batavian Bank (right) is the oldest banking institution of the city.  It was organized in November, 1861 and has ever since been continued in the same office.  It was recognized as one of the leading Northwest.  It has been recognized as such not only in the State and country, but also in Europe, where it had extensive and valuable connections.

The La Crosse National Bank was established and began business in January of 1877.  It was regarded as one of the responsible monetary corporations in Wisconsin.2

1. The Industries of La Crosse, Wis., 1888 (La Crosse, WI: Spicer & Buschman, 1888), 21.

2.  Consul Willshire Butterfield, History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin (Chicago: Western Historical Co., 1881), 582-583.