Wildcat Mountain's Farm Heritage

Edward and Edna Lord bought the land and in 1915 built a house and barn. Edna raised the crops like corn, potatoes, squash and more.

Edna also milked the cows because Ed thought she could do it faster than he could. They also had geese, chickens, pigs, and three sheep to produce wool for blankets and clothing.

Long ago, the farm where the park office now was a ginseng garden. The hillside to the right as you come up the entrance road was the ginseng garden.

Ginseng must be partially shaded in order to grow. To provide shade, poles are erected with a wire mesh strung across the top. Branches are then placed on top of this mesh to provide shade. Similar methods are used today, but wooden slats are used instead of branched and twigs.

The "seng" was cultivated, and the leaves were left for mulch and protection for the young plants. The roots were dug, washed and dried. Then the ground was replanted with seed or seedlings. The harvest cycle of five years made the growing of "seng" a risky operation as diseases and adverse weather conditions often ruined a crop, and it took three pounds of green ginseng to make one pound of dry.

Eventually the bottom dropped out of the market because of the lack of shipping facilities in World War I. Since World War II, the interest in ginseng has revived as the value of it is being recognized in this country for medicines, perfumes, cosmetics, gum, etc. The digging of wild "seng" has begun again, and new "seng gardens" are cropping up.

The old office and shop building were a drying house for ginseng, called the "seng house." It also housed the hired hands who worked in the gardens.

The house was also used for drying ginseng, but was later remodeled and added to for use for a family dwelling.

How Wildcat Mountain Got Its Name

In the 1800s, local farmers were upset because a bobcat, also called wildcat, killed several of their sheep.

So the farmers formed a hunting party to find the wildcat. They tracked and killed it to prevent the loss of anymore of their livestock. The farmers shot it nearby the area that is now the park's main overlook and gave it the name Wildcat Hill. The name was later changed to Wildcat Mountain.

We currently don't have any wildcats in the park that we are aware of… but there are many other animals in the park such as raccoons, skunks, wild turkeys and a lot of deer!

For more information, ask:

Wildcat Mountain State Park
E13660 State Highway 33, PO Box 99
Ontario, Wisconsin 54651
(608) 337-4775