Badger Bay - A Work In Progress

[Pat]

Sweeet i liked the tut... found anther idea to work with....


btw welcome to pg4

[tkirch]

WOW Page 4 already and not even a week old.  Thanks everyone!  Like I said before as I go along I try new things to make the enjoyment of this MD better and the flow of it better.  So with that being said I always grab ideas from other MD's and this one comes from a faithful follower of mine as I am of hers, jmouse.  Wildcat Junction uses a numbering system on her pictures and I like that idea, so here will be mine.  So you can always have a picture number to reference back to.  Thanks Joan.

OK are next stop will be one large square to the left of the City of Sheboygan as you can see in the picture below:

S2-1 -Where we are in Badger Bay

This square is a rural square as much of Sheboygan County is.  A large number of farms dot the landscape.  But there are three small towns in this large square. 
Freemont - The largest of the three.  Freemont has a good mix of industry, commercial and residential development.
Mill Pond - A small community that sprung up around a train station, as often in rural towns do.
Princeton - Another small town that sprung up on two major intersections.
Hatley - An unincorporated village that sprung up around a Grain Freight Station

We will go into detail on each of these towns when we go into the pictures of them. 

S2-2 - An overview of this whole large square, so you can see exactly where we are headed in the next few updates.


S2-3 -This next picture is an overall of the remnant of the City of Sheboygan that flows into this area.  I feel no city should just end because you are done witht that square.  Some areas will drift into the other.  This is the area just on the other side of the I-90 Exit 1.


S2-4 -Here is another that drifts over from Sheboygan.  This one is on the other side of I-90 Exit 2.


And the last bit here are some eye candy shots. 

S2-5 -An overlook that was built along Highway 23 that goes along Cedar Creek.  Highway 23 is a long road with not much between the City of Sheboygan and the town of Freemont.  A traditional country highway.  Well a gas station sprung up next to a rest stop.  The rest stop was built on a bend in Cedar Creek and an overlook was built so travelers could have a nice photo-op.  First a Zoom 3 shot.


S2-6 -Lets zoom in closer


S2-7 -I would like to than pegasus for these.  Peg Scenic Views


S2-8 - The gas station next to the rest stop.

[bat]

Wonderful new update! Great pictures of that part of Badger Bay.

[tkirch]

Freemont

Freemont is a town in Sheboygan County.  The population is small at 3,125 according to the last census.  Freemont was established on a trade route from Badger Bay to the nation north of Badger Bay, Santa Fernando.  The town was named after two early settlers in this area William Freeman and Jefferson Montgomery.  The two opened up a lodge for weary travlers in the early 1800's.  They soon built a saloon, a house of ill repute, and a large cattle farm.  Much of the land around Freemont was owned buy these two individuals and their families.  In 1863, years after their deaths the town was finally incorporated and was named Freemont.  Today it is a small industrial town and is no longer on a major trade route seeing that I-90, miles to the west, has taken much traffic away from this area. 

The town is a sleepy tight little blue collar town.  This close knit town has gone through many changes to bring it to where it is today.  But the foundation of family and hardwork that William Freeman and Jefferson Montgomery started in this area with is the foundation of Freeman.

F-1 - Freemont Overview


Before I go into any pictures of Freemont, I want to show some changes that I did from the original.  I had started this square a week or two ago and let it grow to where it is.  But when I first built it, the pond in the middle was made with scorchin's water.  Well since then Jeronij's transparent water came out.  Well this is what I did, a little change.  Watch as the change progresses.

F-2 The Original Pond


F-3 Bulldozing of the pond and area




F-4 First laying down Edmonton Water for depth


F-5 Laying down the Transparent Water


F-6 Now to lay jeronij's Grass down again for more depth and pond flooring.  Hint: Place more in the middle of pond and less on the edges.


F-7 Now lay down rocks and jeronij's transparent green water for a little contrast.  Adds a bit more realism


F-8 Next we lay down plantings - trees, bushes, wildflowers.


F-9 And the final pond ... much better don't you think?

[thundercrack83]

I love the step-by-step process of building that pond you showed us, my friend! You're quite the teacher! Also, I don't know if I mentioned it before, you're doing a fantastic job all around here. I think we'll all be following along here with you for a long time!

[Jmouse]

I absolutely love S2-2 with the little towns among the farmland.
And thanks for the TPW tutorial. It usually takes me awhile to adapt to new ideas, but once I do, I enjoy experimenting with them.
This is a really good update and I enjoyed looking through it.

Until next time...
Joan

[tkirch]

Freemont Continued

This next update is in the town of Freemont.  These pictures will be along Highway 23.  WHich in Freemont is called Main Street.  These are the things you will see when you first drive into Freemont on Highway 23 on Main Street.

Main Street Freemont

FMS-1   - On the Western Edge of town.  Some commercial and industrial.


FMS-2 - Some office buildings


FMS-3 - Still traveling east towards the center of town.


FMS-4 - The towns water supply


FMS-5 - Some additional industrial mixed among commercial


FMS-6 - At the junction of Highway 23 and County Trunk A.  What is a county trunk look HERE!


FMS-7 - Still moving along Main Street


FMS-8 - Almost on the eastern edge of town now


FMS-9 - The edge of town


Just a few of the buildings close up ...

What A Burger


Wegmans Grocery


My absolutely favorite custom gas station by deadwood

[Jmouse]

You've done a good job creating Main Street, tkirch. You have a nice balance between industrial, commercial and residential, and I think I even see a change in the wealth level from one end to the other.
Looks great!

Until next time...
Joan

[tkirch]

Just a quick teaser where Sheboygan County is headed.  This is with four large squares done.  Should give you a good idea of the type of county Sheboygan is.

[tkirch]

I want to thank everyone as we move forward here into my next update.  Time to make a run at view 500 and the opportunity to move up to Ones To Watch.  About 90 to go.

Mill Pond

Mill Pond is a small village of about 1100 residents.  Mill Pond grew into a small village when a local farmer, Billy Bob, opened a small General Store.  He filled a need for the local farmers.  Instead of having to travel many miles to Freemont or further, they could now go to Billy Bob's General Store.  Over the years local workers in the farms started putting up roots around Billy Bob's store.  Soon a church popped up, then a post office.  It wasn't soon after the post office opened that the village incorporated and started its own local governemnt.  Throughout this time Billy Bob's store was a staple of Mill Pond.  Over the years the store grew with the village.  Many years later, long after Billy Bob has passed, the store is still owned by descendants of his and Billy Bob's Emporium has now grown into over seventy stores throughout Sheboygan County.  But it all started out in Mill Pond.

MP-1 - Billy Bob's Original Store from an old photo ...


MP-2 - Billy Bob's Emporium today


MP-3 - Train station in Mill Pond. 


MP-4 - An Overview of Mill Pond during the day


MP-5 - Night Shot


MP-6 - Some of the local farm supply stores.


MP-7 - John Deere Store


MP-8 - Views of Mill Pond


MP-9


MP-10


MP-11


MP-12


MP-13


Don't forget to look in on the Badger Bay Gazetter HERE!

[tkirch]

History of Farming in Badger Bay and Sheboygan County

Although Native Americans have farmed in Sheboygan County since the Woodland Period (about 3,000 years ago), the European settlers who arrived in the 19th century were not at first drawn to farming. Instead the lure of underground mineral wealth attracted the first few thousand settlers to the lead region of northwest Sheboygan County in the 1820s.

Everything began to change in the 1830s when government surveyors began laying out townships and making detailed examinations of the Badger Bay landscape. Armed with copies of the surveyors' notes, land seekers and speculators began to purchase land from government land offices, paving the way for Badger Bay's agricultural future.

Farming held the widest and most lasting appeal for the immigrants who began coming in increasing numbers in the 1830s. Upon arriving, immigrants were usually anxious to find a good farm site and to raise a crop before winter to feed their families and to sell for additional supplies. Nearly 5,000 farms a year were carved out of the Badger Bay landscape in the 1840s.

Wheat was the earliest and most important cash crop in Badger Bay because it required a small initial capital investment and was fairly easy to grow. From 1840 to 1880, one-sixth of the wheat grown in Badger Bay came from Sheboygan County. Despite its early success and appeal to new homesteaders, however, wheat began to fall from favor in the late 1850s as farmers faced stiff competition from wheat farmers in neighboring states. The following decade, disaster struck Sheboygan County wheat farmers when a disease called wheat rust and tiny insects known as chinch bugs destroyed crops. To remain profitable, farmers had to find new, different, and more manageable crops.

For some, the wheat disaster was a blessing in disguise. Since the 1850s, agricultural reformers had urged farmers to diversify their plantings and to restore depleted soil through crop rotation and fertilization. The Civil War stimulated Badger Bay's wheat production for a time but it also encouraged experimentation and specialization with other farm products. Some of these experiments were little more than fleeting endeavors, like the Todd County hops craze of the 1860s. Others proved more lasting.

Farmers in Stockton County, for example, pioneered the state's cranberry industry in the bogs just north of Berlin, Badger Bay. Production soon expanded into the bogs of the central counties. Areas of southern Badger also began specializing. Farmers in Stricker, Jackson, and Marmaris counties in particular found success with tobacco. Many other farmers turned to feed crops like corn, oats, and hay to feed the thousands of cows producing milk, cheese, and butter for Badger Bay's growing dairy industry. In 1890, Badger Bay ranked first, second, and third nationally in the production of rye, barley, and oats.

Commercial fruit and vegetable cultivation, particularly of peas, began to dominate agricultural production in certain counties in the late nineteenth century. Nearly 30 percent of the state's potatoes, a basic food source for many farmers, came from Todd, Sheboygan, and Ozaukee counties throughout the early twentieth century. Green peas, sweet corn, cucumbers, snap beans, lima beans, and beets all became important commercial crops in the 1880s and Badger Bay soon led the nation in the production of vegetables for processing. And after much trial and error, apples, cherries, and strawberries emerged as viable commercial crops in a few regions of the state.

As many farmers prospered in central Badger Bay, others, particularly newer immigrants, tried to stake claims in the northwestern "cutover" counties left decimated by logging in the early twentieth century. Despite strong promotional efforts and state aid to help settlers remove stumps, the region did not prove conducive to farming.

Although farmers in the cutover region of northern Badger Bay were largely unsuccessful, agricultural production flourished throughout the rest of the state. To match the increasing scale and production levels of the state's agriculture, enterprising businessmen quickly established businesses that supplied tools and equipment to farmers. The agricultural machinery industry expanded across the southern portion of the state after the Civil War but remained strongest in the southeast where Meadowlark, McCormick, and Farmall were located.

Badger Bay remains a leading agricultural state of Sim Nation. One of the greatest changes in farming over the last few decades has been the general decline in family farming and the subsequent rise in corporate farming.

Below is some of the advertisements from the above companies located in Badger Bay.
 

The development of the tractor
     

With the advent of tractors, demos and schools were set up through Badger Bay for the farmers.
 

SC2F-1   Farming throughout Sheboygan County


SC2F-2 A black and white


SC2F-3 An interesting picture


SC2F-4 Those crazy farm kids

[thundercrack83]

A LOT of stuff to look through here, my friend! Absolutely amazing how you've put this last string of updates together! I love all the farms and the pictures, and Mill Pond looks great, too! Keep up the good work!

[Jmouse]

Great update, tkirch! 
The photos look really nice, but those old farming ads really steal the show. You are full of surprises that keep your fans wondering what will happen next!

Until next time...
Joan

[tkirch]

capo - I appreciate your comments.  It's always a crap shoot when it comes to the buildings growing.  I keep some of the buildings out that I don't want to use.  My plugin folder is so sub divided that its easy to do.  As for the pond, thank you for the kind words.  The new transparent mayor mode water looks so great.  There is some mor egreat stuff it looks like coming out that may make them better.  If I could only get a decent looking pier made for these ponds it would be even better.  Everything I try in lot editor looks crappy.

thundercrack83 - I am glad you like the farms.  I love doing farmlands, they look just great.  I think its an acquired taste.  I saw the most recent stats you put up here, I was so surprised to see I was number one in the top 5.  That is so cool and the readers I thank all.

jmouse - Joan, thank you so much for all the great words and encouragement.  I recommend eceryone to go and read Wildcat Junction.  Joan does a great job and a great read.  And glad you liked the farm posters.  I am trying to do some education on here at the same time.  I think they are pretty neat looking.  The back story is always fun to come up with on anything but its a lot of fun when it turns out like the farming one did.

bat - I am glad you liked the pond.  Learning a lot from reading other MD's.  Its a great way to get ideas.

rooker1 -  Thanks for checking in Robin.  And glad to see your own MD doing great.  I love what your doing over there.

nedalazz - Thank you so much and I am glad you liked the way Edens turned out.  I love small towns as you can see.  Wait till you see one I have coming up in a couple of weeks.  I think it may be the best one so far.

patfirefghtr - Thanks pat.  I am glad the tutorial was helpful. 


SIDE NOTES
Looking through my MD and some of the posts I was thinking maybe I didn't do a great job in possibly explaing the origin of Badger Bay.  I look at Badger Bay as an individual state in a fictitious nation.  Right now I call it SimNation.  Maybe sometime I will come up with a better name.  But in my mind SimNation is set up the way the United States is set up with individual states with their own state governements but are still under the control of the Federal government SimNation.  Badger Bay has a state capital and each county has their own local governments as do cities, villages and towns.  So when you read the stories I put in here, you may now have a better understanding of where I am coming from.

And then once again thank you all for reading my little MD.   Coming on here and seeing how many people read it encourage me to keep going.  And I love suggestions so don't hold back and crticism is always good, its how I learn. 

ADDITIONAL SIDE NOTE
I own my own business Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, and as an entrepreneur I personally have decided to make a change in the world as much as I can.  Well my business, my employees, and my clientel just raised our 10,000 dollar today for a personal favorite charity, Camp Heartland.  Tomorrow me and my wife are going to an event to hand over the check to them.  It's something I am very proud of.

[tkirch]

Princeton

Location: Two miles south of Princeton at the junctions of County Trunk A, County Trunk TA, and Highway 12.

History: Explorers first came to the Princeton area looking for lumber in 1847. What they found was a vast forest of elm. Timber crews followed and the logging business got started.

The first house built in this area was in 1849. It was a shanty used as a stopping place and was under a big elm on an old hunting trail which would later become Highway 12.  The next shanty and first real place of entertainment was built in 1854. A short time later it passed into the hands of A. B. Damon, who is regarded as the first permanent white settler.

Princeton was named in honor of John S. Prince, who built a sawmill in Sheboygan in the early 1850's to manufacture lumber from the vast amounts of lumber coming from this area. The village of Princeton was laid out and platted in the winter of 1855 by Samuel Ross, James W. Gillam, Dorilius Morrison, John S. Prince, and Richard Chute. Although the village plat was recorded on April 19, 1856, in Sheboygan County, the village was at first a part of the township of and was not separated until March 5, 1877.

In 1890, agriculture was taking the place of the lumber industry as the mainstay of the village. Wheat was grown extensively in the Princeton area, but potatoes became the most important crop produced. In 1901 and 1902 Princeton became the largest primary potato market in the Northwest. During this time nearly every grower had quite an appreciable number of culls in his crop for which he could receive only a small price, if anything, on the market. It became apparent that there was a need for a starch factory in this village to use these culls. Therefore, on March 26, 1890, the Princeton Potato Starch Company was incorporated. Potatoes came in rapidly and the starch factory ran day and night. Later a second starch factory was erected. By 1926, potato growing in this area on a large scale had practically ceased due to the soil becoming exhausted for potato growing. Growers were also having difficulty with diseases because they were not using certified seed stock and the leaf hoppers (insects) were giving them no end of trouble.

Princetons current population is 850.

P-1 - Overview of Princeton


P-2 - Princeton at Night


P-3 - Downtown Princeton.  Small and quaint.


P-4 - St. Johns Lutheran Church and it's cemetary


P-5 - A Funeral


P-6 -  Small school

[Jmouse]

Princeton is a beautiful little village, tkirch, and looks especially cozy in the night shots.
And I thank you for your support. I'm working on farms right now, too, and it looks like I can learn a lot from you!

Until next time...
Joan

P.S.: Thats one of my favorite schools!

[nedalezz]

Thats a lovely shot of downtown Princeton, so calm and quiet. Almost makes me want to go find me a small town in the US somewhere and buy me a house!

[tkirch]

Last update in this area is a very small unincorporated area.

Hatley
I have only three pictures of Hatley.  Mainly because Hatley is just a tiny little area that sprung up around a rail grain elevator for the farmers.  Some of the people that work in the silo and the nearby famrs live in this small unicorporated area.

H-1 Overview


H-2 Grain Silo


H-3 Hatley

[Jmouse]

Hatley may be tiny, but it still fits into the whole picture and looks very nice. Even the smallest detail is important. (Oh boy, is it ever! )

Until next time...
Joan

[tkirch]

I once stated that I would add some special things in here.  I want to give recognition to all th epeople that post in here.  So as we go along you will see some special recognition for different things.

The first recognition goes for 10 posts in Badger Bay.  And the first honor ....

Thank you Joan.