Waupaca, Nekoosa, Dayton, Mt Morris, Red Granite - any pics or info? (Appleton: for sale, city hall)

[Dea13]

Anyone have pics of Waupaca, Nekoosa, Dayton, Mt Morris or Red Granite? I'd love to see main street types shots. I know I must have been through these areas but for the life of me can't remember anything about them.

Would any be a good place to raise a child?

Thanks for any info!

Dea

[Drover]

I've been through Mt. Morris a lot of times. I staffed at a Boy Scout camp in neighborhing Wild Rose and we had to pass through Mt. Morris to get to the nearest town with anything approximating civilization (namely Wautoma), such as a grocery store, a laundromat, a restaurant that didn't suck, and the like.

Here's the scoop on Mt. Morris: there's nothing there. Literally nothing. There's no "Main Street," there's no downtown, no shops, no restaurants, nothing. Not even a residential neighborhood. The town of Mt. Morris is basically an intersection of two farm roads. It's a mailing address and nothing else. There is one VERY small lake with a few houses around it with docks and rickety old pontoon boats. Oh, and there's a small church there too.

The terrain is pretty flat with some small rolling hills and the topography is a mix of woods and dairy farms. There's decent recreational opportunities there with some lakes nearby. I'd guess snowmobiling would be a cinch too come wintertime. Oh yeah, and they also have the smallest ski hill I have ever seen -- total vertical drop maybe a couple hundred feet -- basically a glorified sledding hill. But it even has a tiny little ski lift and everything. It's about the goofiest thing I've ever seen.

EDIT: Here's the web page for the ski hill (laughably named "Nordic Mountain"), most likely served by a telephone modem: http://www.nordicmountain.com/

If you want to raise kids in the epicenter of nowhere, Mt. Morris is a great place to do it. If you like the area in general but want to be near a bare hint of civilization, I'd look closer to Wautoma.

[Hntr]

Waupaca is a nice town, 2000 census was at 5000, good schools, a fair amount of extra curricular activies for kids. The Chain of Lakes provides fishing and skiing. Waupaca also has a lot public hunting areas. Shopping is limited, KMart, Fleetfarm, Pick and Save, Piggly wiggly, and Walgreens are the only big name chain stores, but there are a lot of privately owned stores. Since it is a tourist town many gift shops, a half dozen little strip malls, a few fast food restaurants.

You have the Wisconsin Veterans which employees almost a thousand people and the foundry with probably an equal amount of employees. May to September the population grows with a lot of summer residents.

Waupaca also has a decent hospital, several clinics, many good doctors.

All in all it's a nice town to raise kids.

I'll see what I can do about some pictures next time I go there.

[Hntr]

Waupaca also has a public lifeguarded beach at South Park, a winter skating rink at the Expo Center and live music at the town square every Wednesday evening during the summer. The town square is also has a fine library and the city hall.

Nearby is Hartman Creek State Park with another beach for kids, hiking trails, horseback riding trail, crosscountry skiing trails and a multitude of activities like nature hikes, night hikes and fishing seminars put on by the state.

For serious shopping Appleton is 40 miles east and Stevens Point is 25 miles west.

[Hntr]

Here are a few pictures of Main Street Waupaca.

Driving south:

[Hntr]

Oh, I took this pictures at around 7:30 in the morning, before the town was up and bustling.

And here a few pictures of Main Streen going north:

[Hntr]

Town Square: includes Library, City Hall and Gazebo for live music on Wednesday nights.

[Hntr]

East side of Main Street

[Hntr]

West side of Main

[Dea13]

Hntr - Wow! Thanks for all the pictures of Waupaca. I'll have to put that on my short list. It looks about the right size and main street shots appear very quaint. Small enough to really get to know people and large enough to get groceries and have enough kids in each grade.

Drover - thanks for the info on Mt Morris. That's kind of the impression my husband had from looking at the atlas but looking at houses for sale, just wasn't sure.

Dea