"Grant Township from atop Pleasant Ridge, standing in front of the former Ernest Vine farm. At the bottom of the gravel road, lies Highway 10, which leads to Granton toward the left and Neillsville toward the right. In the far distance, Saddle Mound is visible toward the right. Remains of Precambrian era mountains are to the distant left. Gordon Vine, still residing on his farm located to the left of this photo, wrote an interesting book about Grant Township, describing the geological formation of the terraine to the settling of the area by "The Buffalo Tribe", English immigrants who settled this ridge from Buffalo, N.Y, their first home in the U.S. Fred J. Vine, mentioned in the last paragraph, explored this ridge and was one of the original settlers." (photo by MariAnne Walker)

Grant Township is located in the south-eastern portion of the county, and is described as township number twenty-four, range one west, the fourth principal meridian forming its eastern boundary. It was on of the first towns in the county to be settled and is one of the most extensively improved towns in the county. It was first settled by people from New York and Pennsylvania, but has lately become settled with people of German descent, and people from the other eastern states. The town contains thirty-six square miles or sections, something over one –half of which is cleared and under cultivation. It is almost exclusively an agricultural town, although there are two or three mills in the town for the manufacture of lumber and shingles. The land was originally covered with hardwood timber, except along the streams, where pine grew to some extent. The soil of this town as well as many others in the county is well adapted to the production of grains and grasses, and stock raising and dairying are fast becoming on of the chief branches of agricultural pursuits.

"Grant Township to the north from atop Pleasant Ridge. The location of these photos is just slightly north of the center of the entire township, so they show a major portion of the Town of Grant." (photo by MariAnne Walker)

The surface is gently undulating and is quite well watered by small streams. O’Neill creek, which is one of the larger branches of Black river, flows through the northern part of the town and has floated many million feet of pine timber to market. Cunningham creek, another branch of Black River, waters the southern and southeastern portion of the town, and has been similarly utilized. Quite an elevated ridge, about two miles in width, extends east and west through the central portion of the town and is known as Pleasant Ridge. The wells in the town probably average forty of fifty feet in depth and furnish a plentiful supply of pure cold water. There are many places in the town where good water is found in abundance at a depth of fifteen or twenty feet, but it is found only at a much greater depth on this ridge which we have described, making the average depth somewhat greater than it is in many other towns in the county. The stage line between Neillsville and Marshfield (a distance of thirty miles) passes through the town and there are two post-offices in the town, one known as Pleasant Ridge, which is in the central part of the town, at which F.J. Vine is postmaster, and one at Maple Works in the northeastern part of the town, at which N. Marsh is postmaster.

The little village of Maple Works has been a busy little town for several years, being the trading point for quite a large section of country. A general store, a hardware store, a confectionery store, a hotel, a blacksmith and wagon shop and a saloon are the principal business places in the village.

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha R.R., which is being extended from Neillsville to Marshfield, passes through the town in a northeasterly course, and will be completed and in operation within a few weeks; the grading at the present writing being nearly completed. Without doubt there will be a depot located in the town, probably at Maple Works, which will be a great convenience to the residents of the town in the shipment of farm and dairy products, as well as the other advantages which a railroad always brings.

The population of the town has not grown very rapidly, though its growth has steadily increased as the following will show: In 1875 the population of the town was 690, in 1880 it was 881, in 1885 it was 1122, and at the present time, 1890, it is about 1400, thought for exact figures for this year, see the last pages of this book. The present outlook indicates that the population will double before another census is taken. There is still several hundred acres of land in the town that can be bought by settlers, at reasonable figures. The highways of the town are in excellent condition, and are built on nearly every section line in the town, making it an easy matter to get from one portion of the town to another.

There are five churches in the town, representing the Methodist, Presbyterian, Adventist and Lutheran faiths. One of these, which is located at Pleasant Ridge, is a substantial brick structure, and the others are quite comfortable and commodious wooden buildings.

There is a graded school with two departments at Maple Works, and six other schools of one department each, scattered through the town, besides the private schools which are run in connection with the Lutheran and German Methodist churches. The school buildings are nearly all well built and well furnished and all employ competent teachers. Each district has from thirty-two to forty weeks of school during the year.

At the present time Fred. J. Vine is chairman of the town board, and represents the town board, and represents the town on the county board; August Scholtz, Jr. is the town clerk, William Klein is the treasurer and O. F. Walter is the assessor, all of whom are farmers by occupation. A large town hall has recently been erected one half mile north of the center of the town.