Mill site has been through many changes over time, remnants left of before

Let the ground lie dormant long enough, and trees will sprout. Let those trees grow, and they’ll become a forest.

In the relatively short span of geologic time that Stanley Wisconsin has existed as a platted community, and even before as a glacial till deposit, it’s seen many changes, including glaciers turned bulldozer and the mill in what is now Fandry Park.

As to what the glaciers did, it made a relative flat space from hills.

As to the mill, it operated for some 30 years before it closed in the early 20th century. The old mill employed hundreds in its day, then giving way to farming as the forests were cleared and logging comntinued to move westward with the trees. There is a stand of trees in Minnesota called the “Lost Forty” that remains from a surveyor’s error, but most such giants are gone, hewed down and toppled over to become boards for houses and other construction projects. That isn’t to say all is lost, however. Take the map above.

When Mr. Bridgman came in 1896, the mill was loud with the noise of band saws and the community alive. The community is still alive and present, even as the mill has passed. The Northwestern Lumber Company was largely responsible for Stanley’s growth if not founding (there were people present on site), but with time comes change, the inevitable byproduct of life.

As to the mill, it became a land company with an ovce on Broadway, the land ovce turned into a lawyer's ovce, and the lawyer's ovce became an accountant's ovce. Ephemeral chang es have come, but brick and mortar substance remains.

For those seeking more on the Northwestern Lumber Company and its remaining vestiges and records, a display can be seen at the Stanley Area Historical Society on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m to 4 p.m., while the records themselves are at the University of Wisconsin -Eau Claire.