The Wisconsin Territory
~The Heartland Province~
The Wisconsin Territory is a northern heartland province of Magicatdom, covering the southern half of the Great Lakes region and roughly analogous to the Human states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. The Wisconsin Territory also covers the Chicagoland area of Illinois.
The province has two capitals: Catsden, in Chicago; and Detroit, Michigan. Michigan holds special status within the province and has an independent government, which manages utilities and local affairs, as well as its own rail system, the Detroit Piston.
A large export of the Wisconsin Territory is agriculture, with large amounts of corn, soy, thimbleweed, beef, venison, and dairy produced within its borders. The province also claims a storied industrial core, with many eastern cities manufacturing millions of products each day. Northern Wisconsin is home to the province’s most prestigious school, Grodshire Magicademy.
The province outside Michigan is served by the Indigo Line rail network. The train system and cars are the most-used methods of transport within the province. Notable cities include Catsden, Chicago; Detroit, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Duluth.
EARLY HISTORY
The land that would become the Wisconsin Territory was settled before American forces by Magicats who journeyed beyond the growing frontier, many of whom lived in relative peace with the local Wildcat tribes. Due to the presence of Wildcat and French settlements established in the region long ago, Many Magicat settlements retain some hints of both French and Algonquin languages.
Magicatdom expanded into the area with the expanding borders of its human counterparts. Arriving in a flat prairie, Magicats found themselves taken aback by the harsh winters and fighting style of the native Wildcats, who had grown wise and wary of Magicats’ intentions after dealing with previous waves of settlers and taking in refugee tribes from eastern territories.
The local Wildcat tribes—forming an alliance to defend their lands—were initially successful in repelling Magicats from the area, even as Humans pressed further into the territory. In order to defend themselves against open-field combat, Magicats resorted to building large castles, which were used to keep safe from the harsh winters and surprise attacks.
In order to repel the Wildcat tribes from the area, the Magicats made a pact with the Lynx Tribe, a large local power that received distrustful treatment from the Puma. Accepting the terms, the Lynx turned upon the rest of the Wildcats, causing their forces to crumble from within. At the same time, the Magicats convinced humans to begin hunting Wildcats as they plowed the forests for farms. With the help of humans, Magicats soon eradicated all Wildcat tribes from the area.
The territory was slowly incorporated as humans expanded across the great lakes, with many Magicat settlements built within or underneath Human cities. Whereas many of the Northeast’s cities were incorporated directly into the city centers, as the amount of land expanded, many residential districts were build in neighborhood plots far outside the cities. Due to the harsh weather experienced in much of the Great Lakes region, and the development of industrial travel such as train lines that made traveling greater distances possible, Magicats started putting their urban city centers underground, creating secret train lines to travel between them.
Detroit remains one of the only large cities in the province to lack an underground district, with its Magicat Downtown and Haecceity situated above ground near the city center.
CATSDEN
Chicago’s Magicat District, Catstown, initially mirrored Detroit’s, built above ground in the middle of the city center. At the time, Chicago was nothing more than a small shipping town, chosen for its strategic position on Lake Michigan.
When the Great Chicago Fire broke out, the Magicat District burned down, killing many. As the District would have to be rebuilt from scratch, and knowledge of taller buildings making it harder to blend in became relevant, the Haecceity decided to move the city underground. The cavern was hollowed out over the course of a couple of months, and construction on the new, underground sector, dubbed Catsden, mirrored the industrial progress of Chicago just a decade later. The new Catstown, now a residential neighborhood in a booming city, was developed on the expanding northeast side of the city, with more settlements being developed as the city grew. When the Chicago Subway was established, special lines were built in to carry passengers from Catsden throughout the city.
When the Wisconsin Territory was incorporated as a province, Catsden—having access to the largest city in the region—was chosen as the location of the province’s Haecceity. It was chosen over Detroit, initially desired for its seniority and proximity to the east, after Michigan gained devolved status within the province. Despite losing population after the collapse of regional manufacturing, Catsden remains the largest Magicat settlement in the region, and the most centrally connected, its Union Station wing being the starting point for the province’s Indigo Line train system.
THE MICHIGAN EXCEPTION
Up until the mid 1800s, Magicatdom had existed in relative congruence with human state borders. But with an incentive pushed through the Grand Haecceity to simplify borders into eleven districts instead, the states were each grouped into larger provinces. Michigan, at the time a bustling centre of industry, feared the encroach of government regulation upon its territory and industry, via means of cooperation with the conflicting interests of other territories. Wealthy businessowners within the state sponsored campaigns to keep Michigan independent of both the Northeast and Wisconsin territories, arguing that Michigan should be its own province.
Spurred to means of force, the Grand Haecceity threatened to forcefully annex Michigan if the state did not comply, which Michigan responded to by threatening to declare independence. Worried that Michigan declaring independence would lead to support from its neighboring states, all loosely incorporated, mostly rural territories, the Grand Haecceity signed the Michigan Exception. The bill allowed Michigan to self-govern as a devolved state with its own infrastructure, rules, and regulations, despite officially being considered a part of the larger Wisconsin Territory.
A movement still exists to make Michigan a full province within Magicatdom today, though with the state’s diminished importance since the collapse of regional manufacturing, momentum has died down.
TRAIN SYSTEMS
The first Magicat trains were invented in Detroit, Michigan, soon after the Wisconsin Territory’s incorporation. With the spread of human rail networks throughout the region in the mid to late 1800s, Magicatdom was looking for magical train equivalents to bolster travel. The first trains were established in Detroit, with the center of train travel soon shifting over to Chicago due to its central position along the lake. As Chicago developed its rail system, Catsden introduced the Indigo Line, initially meant for easy transport around the city. The first Indigo Line resembled human-designed L-Trains, with progressive models deviating more and more.
The modern train system was invented by Verna Rook, a young industrialist from Milwaukee, in the 1950s. The engines quickly became industry standard, replacing many of the old lines.
GRODSHIRE MAGICADEMY
The Castle of Grodshire was constructed in Northern Wisconsin as part of efforts to hold the territory against Wildcats. Its original name was Harper Hall, for Julius Harper, its initial holder, but due to the Polish magicat laborers who built it, it was commonly dubbed ‘Grodshire’. The castle was built upon a mountainous plateau, surrounded by enchanted woods as a security defense.
When what would become the state of Wisconsin was flushed of Wildcats, Grodshire became strategically irrelevant and was left abandoned. It was bought in a state of disrepair by the Rook Family, wealthy industrialists who renovated the castle with the intent of turning it into a boarding school for the elite.
Grodshire Magicademy, after earning its certificate, joined the Wizards’ League of academies teaching magic. During the next century, it served the children of wealthy businessmen from around the Midwest and surrounding areas. In the 1950s, to a chagrin of the elite school board, the school signed a contract with the Wisconsin Territory to become state-funded, opening applications to the rest of the province and building several local campuses around the province./
Today, the school takes all in-province students who pass the application bar or pay the fee, as well as operating its own personal train line to and from Catsden.
The Train System