Burnett county was named in honor of a genial, kind hearted and eccentric lawyer, Thomas Pendleton Burnett, of Prairie du Chien. It is somewhat irregular in outline, and is bounded on the north by Douglas, on the east by Barron, on the south by Polk and Barron counties, and on the west by the St. Croix river. It includes townships 37 to 42, range 14; from 38 to 42, range 15; from 38 to 41, ranges 16 and 17; from 37 to 40, ranges 18 and 19; from 37 to 38, range 20. Seven of these townships bordering on the St. Croix are fractional. Much of the soil of the county is a sandy loam admirably suited to cereals and vegetables. Some townships in the southeast are first class wheat lands. The timber is mostly a thicket-like growth of small pines, constituting what is called pine barrens. The southeast portion of the county is timbered with hardwoods. It is drained by the St. Croix, Trade, Wood, Clam, Yellow, and Namakagon rivers, with their tributaries, and with the Wood lakes (Big and Little), Mud Hen, Trade, Yellow, Spirit, and numerous other lakes. There are besides many thousand acres of marsh land. These marsh lands are by no means valueless, as they have given rise to a very important industry--the growing of cranberries. There are fine deposits of iron. Large tracts of bog ore are found in townships 38 to 41, ranges 16 to 19. There is an abundance of wild meadow land, easily drained and profitable to stock growers. The settlers of this county are, for the greater part, Swedish and Norwegian emigrants, an intelligent, moral and religious class of people who, while they cherish the traditions, manners, customs and language of their native country, still readily adapt themselves to American institutions, taking kindly to our common school system and to other distinctive features of their adopted country. A liberal spirit has characterized these people in building roads, bridges, school houses, churches, and making other public improvements. They have succeeded well also in their private enterprises, the cultivation of farms and the building of homes. ORGANIZATION.