History of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA

La Crosse, a thriving post-village, capital of La Crosse county, Wisconsin, is beautifully situated on the left bank of the Mississippi river, at the mouth of La Crosse river, 90 miles above Prairie du Chien, and 130 miles from Madison. It contains a court house, 1 or 2 churches, 11 stores, and 1 steam mill. Population in 1853, 543.

La Crosse, la kross, a county in the W. part of Wisconsin, has an area of about 450 square miles. It is bounded on the N.W. by Black River, on the W. by the Mississippi River, and is intersected by the La Crosse River. The surface is undulating, and is diversified with prairies and forests. The soil is fertile. Wheat, lumber, Indian corn, oats, and hay are the staple products. Silurian limestone under lies part of the soil. This county is intersected by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, which, with several other rail roads, connect at La Crosse, the capital. Pop. in 1870, 20,297; in 1880, 27,073; in 1890, 38,801.

LaCrosse, Wis., Sept. 21. - Early Thursday morning fire was discovered in the roof of the brew house of the John Gund Brewing company's plant.
The malt house contained several car loads of malt and about 5,000 bushels of barley, which was totally destroyed, and the office building, which stands across the street, was not burned, and a part of the engine-room was also saved. The cold storage contained about 12,000 barrels of beer, which is also destroyed. The total loss will exceed
$200,000.

LaCrosse, Wis., Dec. 3. - The worst fire that has visited this city for years occurred about midnight last night. Of the old "Brick Pomeroy" block and the McMillan Opera House block, this morning only the tottering walls remain. The lower floors of the burned buildings were occupied by H. HEIL & Sons, shoes; ALLEN'S news depot; LANGSTAD & WATERS, musical instruments; S. BOWLBY, branch of the W. W. Kimball company; the Drummon company, jewlers; and MILLER Brothers
morgue.

The second floor was taken up with offices, while the third floor was used as the armory of the Company M of the National Guard. On this floor all the stores of the company were kept, and when the fire reached the powder and shells, the explosion was terrific.
The loss can hardly be estimated at this time, but will exceed $200,000. The greater part of this is covered by insurance. Six firemen were injured, three seriously. The McMillan Opera House was owned by the McMillan estate.

La Crosse, a city, the capital of La Crosse co., Wis., is beautifully situated on the Mississippi River, iust below the mouth of the La Crosse River, about 40 miles below Winona and 130 miles SE. of St. Paul, on the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul and other railroads. It has a fine city-hall, court-house, opera-houses, and county jail. La Crosse has manufactories of threshing-machines, ploughs, and other farming-implements, engine- and boiler-works, iron-foundries, and very extensive lumber-mills, whose annual product is upward of 300,000,000 feet of sawed lumber, it has also large breweries and cooperages, and is an important (hipping point for grain, lumber, etc. Pop. in 1880, 14,505 ; in 1890, 25,090 ; in 1900, 28,895.