LOW-COST LAND IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

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While you're gathering information, get a copy of the county zoning ordinance and the map that goes with it. Rural zoning—the rule in Wisconsin—started because people moved out in the boondocks, demanded roads and school buses and then either pulled out or went on welfare. Today the regulations are aimed more at protecting lakeshores and preventing city lot developments in country areas. They do contain, however, such loopholes as provisions for hunting and trapping cabins and residences for caretakers in forestry and recreation zones.

Talk to the county agricultural agent, whose business is passing technical information on to farmers. If he's not located in the courthouse the crew there will know where to find him. Some areas also have specialized forestry, horticulture or dairy advisers.

Nor should you miss a discussion with the local Soil Conservation Service man. Find out from him what kinds of earth every section of the county has and what you can expect each type to produce. Ask if a soil survey of the region is available... if so, it's free for the taking.

Courthouse workers are snoopy and gossipy, by the way, and word will go out fast if a bunch of freaks come in to investigate county land. Needless to say, it might be a long time before a recognized longhair became a successful bidder on a piece of property so, if you're a little far out, some common sense is needed in these inquiries. When you approach the people at the courthouse, be as straight as possible. Pretend you're a teacher or skilled worker looking for a summer cottage site where you can have a little garden, or tell them you want a place to build a hunting or fishing cabin.

If you can't put on a straight act, don't give the officials your right name and address when you talk to them (they'll want to write that information down when you buy a plat book). Or let one person do the talking and leave the bidding to another with a different address.

After your trip, when you get time, study the plat book you bought. Each page is a map covering a piece of land measuring six miles in each direction and called a township. Within that area each square mile is called a section and is assigned a number from 1 to 36. The numbering starts in the northeast corner, proceeds across the northern edge of the township from east to west, drops down a mile and returns from west to east, and so on. This system is uniform throughout most of the United States, in the area covered by the rectangular government survey called the General Land Office Grid.

The townships have their own system of identification: They're numbered north from specific base lines and east and west from principal meridians. The north-south series are known as "ranges". Thus a township might be described as Town 50 North, Range 5, West...and a section in that town as Section 25, Town 50 North, Range 5 West. Abbreviations for this description might be written as Sec. 25, T5ON, R5W, or just as 25-50-5.

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