History and Practice of Maple Sugaring
Russ, Margo and Scott Hanson
Hanson Maple Sugarbush
Maple sugaring in WI for over 150 years
Discovery of Maple Sugar
Vocabulary
Sugar Maples on the Seidemann Farm? 1859 Farmington Map
1837 Surveyor map and notes
Surveyor Notes
Maple sugar vs Syrup
Original Methods
Birchbark and Wood
Hot Stones in Sap
The Ojibwe word ziinzibaakwad—maple sap—literally means ‘drawn from the wood.’
This is a remarkably precise description of the process used long before steel spiles and tubing made it routine.
Traders brought metal kettles
Native Americans
Northern Europe
The common story says that Native Americans taught Europeans how to make maple sugar. That’s true—but incomplete.
Indigenous people knew the forests, the trees, and the seasons. Europeans, coming from northern climates, were already familiar with tapping trees like birch.
What happened in North America was not a one-way lesson, but a collaboration: Native knowledge of the land combined with European tools and techniques—especially metal kettles—created the maple sugar industry we recognize today.”
Blanding Photos 1904
Maple Drive - Blanding House
Spiles from the past
County Fair Maple Poster
Tapping hole size
Sugar Bush Maple Grove �Barron County Hansons 1900
Hanson Sugarbush 1920s
1950s on the Hanson Farm
Orr Lake Sugarbush 2003
Finishing
Maple Sugarbush Cabin
First Sugar Shack
Brother Everett and Margo in the old Sugar Shack
New Sap Shed in 2009
Sap often runs after snow falls
Hanson Maple 2022
Scott Leads the Co Fair Syrup Judging Panel 2019 – 32 samples
Questions
How much does your book cost? Why is it labeled “350 Years?”
How is the price of maple syrup set?