The city of Hayward and the surrounding area, as we know it today, developed from the thirst of 10th century man to civilize the entire continental United States. The development in northern Wisconsin started about the same time that the Conestoga wagons went west from Missouri. In fact, the settling in this area began in the 1870’s, when the large areas of trees were seen as prime sources of lumber from the growing cities at the southern edge of the Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River.
Hayward’s founder, Anthony Judson Hayward, visited the present site of our city in the 1870’s and saw that this area would be a prime location for a lumber mill. He knew that there was a very large and seemingly inexhaustible supply of pine lumber. Also, the location on the Namekagon River would be an ideal location for a wood pond for timber storage. The pond could easily be created at this location because of the natural construction on the Namekagon River also the high riverbanks, which existed in the same spot. Another benefit of this location was the fact that the railroad was going to construct a line up the river valley to Ashland, thus creating a way to transport the sawn lumber from the mill to the market.
The railroad was constructed during the summer of 1881 and by the summer of 1882, power dams were constructed on the Namekagon River and on several nearby streams. The dams powered a small lumber mill, which provided lumber to build the proposed large mill, the stores, the boarding houses and several private residences. With about two hundred men employed in all new construction, it only took one year to construct the large mill. By June of 1883, the mill at the new village of Hayward was ready to saw the wood in the Namekagon River piney.
Several other important developments occurred in 1883, which would affect Hayward. The first was the formation of Sawyer County, of which Hayward eventually became the county seat. The second was the construction of roads to other cities in order to obtain the trade of loggers who were cutting in other areas, thus creating other jobs aside from logging.
The school bell rang in Hayward in September of 1883, much to the chagrin of the children in the area. The first public school met in a multi-purpose building near the lumber mill. The first schoolhouse was constructed in 1884, but this building was to have a hot history. In 1885, and again in 1923 this building burned down. Hayward was fortunate to have constructed another school building to house the growing enrollment but this building also caught on fire and burned down on May 11, 1922.
May 11, 1922 was a very important date for Hayward and its economy, because on that day, the old mill burned down. By that time, most of the pine lumber had been cut down and shipped away, only remnant pine was left. Large logging camps were practically non-existent by this time. Northern Wisconsin was being advertised in the larger cities in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois as a vacation area. Resorts were either already established or being built. Shops were catering to the visiting public.
So by May 11, 1922, Hayward was ready for a change. A change from an economy based on logging, to an economy based on tourism.
Today, our woods continue to rejuvenate our visitors, our lakes continue to relax out visitors and our people continue to serve our visitors. Far from the rush and stress of the 21st Century, from the pursuit of cell phones and from the strangulation of the soul, we invite you to…COME BACK TO WHAT MATTERS! REDISCOVER YOUR SOUL!
The above is from the website -> http://www.haywardlakes.com/
