Alpha is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

Wood River Wood River may refer to: Rivers In Canada * Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake * Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan In Ireland * Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...

, Burnett County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. The community is located in the western part of the county, in northwestern Wisconsin. There are fewer than a dozen households in the community.

History

Alpha was settled primarily by

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n immigrants from the

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

District of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The community was originally called Småland Prairie, a name rejected by the

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

. The town's postmaster, also the local buttermaker, at a loss to come up with a better name, simply filled in the name of his ''Alpha'' brand

cream separator A separator is a centrifugal device that separates milk into cream and skimmed milk. Separation was commonly performed on farms in the past. Most farmers milked a few cows, usually by hand, and separated milk. Some of the skimmed milk was consu ...

. The postmaster's butter business eventually became the Burnett Dairy Co-op. Early on, it processed so much milk that the excess

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

turned the stream a creamy color; thus the stream's name, Buttermilk Creek. The Alpha Store survived long after most general stores had closed. The business was owned through most of its years by the Anderson family. Gordon Anderson, the last owner of the store, sold everything from shoes to groceries to television sets. The building is now home to a small engine repair shop.

Geography

The nearest major metropolitan area is

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, located approximately 70 miles to the south-southwest. Alpha is situated on Highway 70, 5 miles east of Grantsburg and 10 miles west of

Siren Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisc ...

. Alpha is surrounded by flat, fertile farmland. Buttermilk Creek passes through town, running alongside the highway until it joins the Wood River about one mile west of town. The stream is small enough to jump across, though it rarely runs dry, even in the height of summer. It drains a sizeable shallow

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

to the east of town, known as the Falun Meadows.

Business and industry

The largest employer in Alpha is the Burnett Dairy Co-op, which produces

string cheese String cheese is any of several different types of cheese where the manufacturing process aligns the proteins in the cheese, which makes it stringy. When mozzarella is heated to 60 °C (140 °F) and then stretched, the milk proteins ...

. Attached to the cheese factory is a retail outlet that sells dairy products, groceries, and

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

s. The Co-op also includes a

feed mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

, with an attached hardware store. A small engine shop is located in the former general store. Alpha has a

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

, an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

operated by the

Grantsburg School District Grantsburg is a village in Burnett County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,341 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Grantsburg. It was established by Canute Anderson. Geography Grantsburg is located a ...

, an

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people ...

, and the Wood River Town Hall.

References

External links

Burnett Dairy Cooperative
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Burnett County, Wisconsin