Eagle River is a northwoods gem plush with natural resources and natural beauty that keeps visitors coming.

That same beauty is what attracted loggers back in the late 1800's when the city was founded.

Before 1883, Eagle River was just a beautiful landscape, with rivers, lakes and countless trees. But that came with a price.

"Before the railroad came there were just a few logging crews here. They cut the trees down and flowed them down the Wisconsin to Merrill, Wausau, Stevens Point to sawmills," said Craig Moore, president of the Eagle River Historical Society.

He says the dense forests were cut over within 10 years. Eventually immigrants moved to the area.

"The poor immigrants found out the ground was only good for growing trees, so a lot of families failed up here."

The Milwaukee, Lake Shore and Western railway had a major role in the development of Eagle River. The railroad brought settlers up north and lumber down south.

"Eagle River didn't really happen until 1883 when the railroad came."

The natural resources always had an impact.

"That's what brought people here to begin with, to cut the beautiful white pine and red pine that grew up here, and after they cut that, they went into hard woods and soft woods. "

By the 1930's the U.S. Forestry Service stepped in to re-plant the trees.

Meanwhile, visitors came from all over, heading to resorts on area lakes.

"Every resort had their steam launch there and they'd get off the train and then they'd get a nice ride on the steam launch through the lakes, to the resort."

But, now the railroad is a thing of the past.

"They pulled up the rails in 1982, passenger service stopped in the late 50's and freight service in the 70's."

But the memory's alive here at the Eagle River's historical depot, where years ago travelers were all aboard.

Today, the depot's filled with local memorabilia from the town's early days.

And along with the world snowmobiling championships, Klondike Days, Eagle River is known for its crisp, fresh air.

"People come here to get back to nature. They come from the cities and the smog and the noise and the traffic, and they come up here so they can kick back and relax."