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A Woodside History
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INTRODUCTION   For many, Woodside Ranch means fresh air, country life, horseback rides, fireplace log cabins and long forest walks. It has also become an important destination for many people across America, some 250,000 of them. For these people, Woodside has been a very special, greatly-awaited retreat from daily life. This is a brief telling of the Woodside Ranch story.  

BEGINNINGS   The original two-story farmhouse, some five miles east of Mauston, Wi, was built in the 1850's off a dirt road that served as a buggy path to town. A large cottonwood tree was planted about the same time. (more on that later) For the next 50 years, the farmland was worked much the same as most farms in a largely agrarian America following the Civil War, but the the farm was abandoned late in the 1890's. That would change after the turn of the century following the marriage of William and Sophie Feldmann on May 25, 1899. Although a railroad worker in Belvidere, IL, William dreamed of becoming a farmer. For the near future, however, raising a family occupied the couple's time. The family grew quickly in the next few years, Raymond, Violet, Lucille, Dick and Harold. As it turned out the Feldmanns would need all the help they could get.  

FARMING AND FRIENDS   The Feldmann family sold their nice home in Belvidere, in 1914, and acquired what had become a broken down Wisconsin farm. At first the children thought it was an adventure, playing in abandoned buildings and helping out on the farm, especially at harvest time.  The family raised animals (pigs, chickens, dairy and beef cattle) and grew crops ( corn , soybeans, oats.) They also sold eggs and kept goats and horses. But soon it became clear that the farm couldn't suport the family.  So the children went to work in Chicago during the winters to supplement the family's income. During the 1920's the children would often bring their friends "up to the farm" from Chicago. These visitors enjoyed eating the home-grown food, riding the horses, and working on the farm, if only temporarily. Unfortunately, it created a problem because there wasn't enough space to house everyone. So in 1925 William and some friends built the farm's first cabin.  It was called Crestwood. At the same time the large hay barn near the highway was constructed.  William also decided, after years of having "free" guests stay at the farmhouse, to charge for room and board. In April, 1926 he began putting a small weekly advertisement in the Chicago Tribune, an ad that continues to appear today.  

WOODSIDE FARM RESORT   By the end of the 1920's the Feldmanns discovered that many people from the city had a great interest in spending a few days on a working farm, with a majority of guests taking the train from Chicago. . Most of the money earned from the resort was reinvested into building a few more cabins and buying more property and horses.  By 1930 the farm could hold as many as 50 guests at one time. One tradition began when guests started sitting under the large cottonwood tree - by now over 80 years old - to wait for the dinner bell.  Soon it was called the HUNGRY TREE.

by and take an available room or cabin, usually for a week

DEPRESSION, EXPANSION   The Depression of the 1930s was a lesson for the Feldmann family.  Despite the creation of a tourist business, the farm was still needed to sustain everyone.  The children continued to work in Chicago and elsewhere in the country during the winters (until the 1960's, Woodside was only open in the summer ) and the family grew and ate their own food. One of the children, Dick, learned how to build log cabins at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  His finest  accomplishment was the cabin Heart of Oaks. Ironically, the hard work and dedication of the family to keep the resort going and growing paid off during the height of the Depression. Despite hard times, people never lost interest in visiting rural settings for vacations, or their desire to escape from city life with family or friends. And although money was tight, vacations were still taken and the Feldmanns added new rooms in the farmhouse and a few more cabins. Guests now numbered  80 to 90 people at one time. It was also during the 1930's that the Feldmanns changed the name of their resort to Woodside Ranch.  

WAR AND PEACE   In the 1940's the country was at war and WR witnessed an interesting change in demographics: about 90 female guests to 10 males.  The few male ranch hands felt they were in heaven! Soldiers aften came to Woodside Ranch to dance with the women. It was at this time that Carnagie Hall was built to hold large dances. (It was also misspelled, too!) Not by coincidence, the Trading Post was now built and Woodside received its first beer license. Dick Feldmann expanded his log cabin expertise to swimming pools. He built one by hand, pouring the cement and hoping to finish it before entering military service. His determination to "take care of business" before leaving Woodside proved to go beyond the pool. Dick also took on building the front steps to the farmhouse (now the main lodge.) At the same time, he met the new Woodside secretary and married her! This was one of many romances occurring at Woodside over the years. After the war, Woodside was upgraded, with living rooms and fireplaces added to cabins. In 1957, Highway 82 was rebuilt, making Woodside more accessible. It also meant that the barns had to be moved back, which was accomplished without a hitch. This was the time when the Underpass was constructed, providing a safe passage under the highway for children who wanted to go back and forth from the barns to the lodgings.  

MORE ADDITIONS   The 1960's saw more expansion at Woodside. Cabins were added, a ski bar was built in the main lodge (1965) and Woodside was now open year-round. A few years later, the ski hill was doubled in size by trucking in many tons of dirt, and the cross country ski program was launched. The Trading Post was also enlarged and the outside concrete ping pong tables were replaced by an indoor wooden one. With an increase in guests - now up to 150 - the Little Red School House was built to accommodate young children while their parents were off riding or wandering about. In the 1970's the game room was added, along with new tennis courts. Tennis was popular again and a group once came to Woodside just to play the sport. Since the nets weren't up yet, they strung chicken wire from post to post and played the whole week!  

TOWARDS TOMORROW   Despite Woodside's success and growth, the traditions and atmosphere of a family farm have never been compromised. True, the activities have expanded with more planned for the future. And modernization has provided quests with more safety and comfort - the new zero-depth pool (0 to 6 feet) opened in the spring of 1990, is the first of its kind in Wisconsin. In 1993, the pond was tripled in size, to 5 acres, and new row boats and paddle boats were added. Perhaps most important, just as William and Sophie Feldmann passed on the warm memories of farm life to their family and friends, the Woodside "family" of guests pass on experiences to their own children. Generations of families now claim to have spent time at Woodside Ranch. Woodside Ranch remains the city-dwellers' getaway, today and tomorrow. And that is what Woodside Ranch is all about.