Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien is the
county seat of
Crawford County, Wisconsin. The population was 6,018 at the 2000 census.
Often called Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established by
French voyageurs in the late 17th century. The city is located near the confluence of the
Wisconsin River and the
Mississippi River, a strategic point along the early waterway between the
Great Lakes and the Mississippi.
Early French visitors to the site found it occupied by a group of Fox Indians led by a chief whose name, Alim, meant "Chien" in
French, or "Dog" in
English. As a result, the French explorers named the location "Prairie du Chien", which is French for "Prairie of the Dog". Originally this name applied only to the plain upon which the settlement is located, but it was later extended to mean the city as well. The city of Prairie du Chien is located alongside the
Mississippi River, between the
Town of Prairie du Chien and the
Town of Bridgeport.
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Location of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin |
The first
European visitors to reach Prairie du Chien were the
French explorers
Jacques Marquette and
Louis Joliet, who reached the city by canoe on
June 17,
1673, and discovered a route to the
Mississippi River. Much further travel between French
Canada and the Mississippi River passed through Prairie du Chien, although routes via the
Illinois River were also used. In 1685, the French explorer
Nicholas Perrot established a
trading post in the area as part of the massive French
fur trade industry. The significance of Prairie du Chien as a center of the fur trade did not diminish until the mid 19th century.
In 1763,
Great Britain defeated France in the
French and Indian War, and took possession of the French territory in
North America, including Prairie du Chien. The British expanded the fur trade during their occupation of the area. During the
American Revolutionary War the city was used as meeting point for British troops and their
Native American allies. After the
Treaty of Paris (1783) granted the area to the new
United States of America, the British and their Loyalists were slow to withdraw. Only after the
War of 1812 would the city become fully American.
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Plaque for Marquette |
The U.S. was slow to present any authority over Prairie du Chien, but late in the War of 1812 the U.S. realized the importance of holding Prairie du Chien to prevent British attacks from Canada, and began construction of
Fort Shelby in 1814. In July, the fort was captured by British soldiers, who occupied it until the war's end in 1815. Not wanting another invasion through Prairie du Chien, the Americans constructed
Fort Crawford in 1816. The fort was the site of the
Treaty of Prairie du Chien (1825 and 1829).
In 1829, army doctor
William Beaumont carried out many of his famous experiments on
digestion in the
hospital of Fort Crawford. Beaumont's discoveries are still the basis of our knowledge on the human digestive process.
Col.
Zachary Taylor, who later became the 12th
U.S. President, was the commanding officer at Fort Crawford during the
Black Hawk War of 1832. Taylor oversaw the surrender of Black Hawk in Prairie du Chien. Lt.
Jefferson Davis, who later became the president of the
Confederate States of America, was stationed at Fort Crawford at the same time. It was at this fort that Jefferson Davis met Zachary Taylor's daughter,
Sarah "Knoxie" Taylor, whom he would marry in 1835.
Outside the walls of the fort, early nineteenth century life in Prairie du Chien was still dominated by the fur trade. Prairie du Chien's most notable traders during this time were
Michael Brisbois,
Joseph Rolette, and
Hercules L. Dousman. Dousman especially was able to establish a fortune in the fur trade. This money, combined with income from investments in land, steamboats, and railroads, propelled Dousman to become the first
Millionaire in the state of Wisconsin. Dousman died in 1868, and his son,
H. Louis Dousman inherited much of his fortune. In 1870 Louis Dousman used his inheritance to construct a luxurious victorian mansion over the site of the former Fort Shelby. When Louis died unexpectedly in 1886, his family renamed the home "
Villa Louis" in his memory. The Dousman Family continued to occupy the home until 1913. Nearly forty years later, in 1952, the mansion became Wisconsin's first state-operated historic site.
After the fur trade declined in mid nineteenth century, Prairie du Chien 's attention shifted to agriculture and the railroad. Although the city was first connected to the
Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad in 1857, the width of the Mississippi River posed a challenge for further expansion of the railroad into Iowa. This problem was temporarily solved by disassembling the trains at Prairie du Chien and ferrying them across the river to be put back on the tracks on the other side. A better solution was found by two men named Michael Spettel and John Lawler, who designed a permanent
pontoon bridge to span the river in 1874. Lawler took most of the credit for this invention, and made a small fortune through its operation. Lawler would later donate property to establish two Catholic boarding schools in Prairie du Chien, St. Mary's Institute (now known as
Mount Mary College, of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin), and
Campion High School in the later part of the century. Campion High School especially was known for its educational quality, and it produced several notable alumni including
Vicente Fox,
George Wendt,Congressman
Leo Ryan, Governor
Patrick Lucey, actors
David Doyle and
Kevin McCarthy, and writer
Garry Wills. Campion remained open until 1975.
*
Jeremiah Burnham Tainter (1836 - 1920) -
engineer who invented the
Tainter gate*
Walter Bradford Cannon (1871 - 1945),
physiologist who first developed the concepts of
fight or flight and
homeostasis.
*
Pat Bowlen (1944 - ), owner of the
Denver Broncos |
The Mississippi River, viewed from St. Feriole Island |
Prairie du Chien is located within the Mississippi River Valley, upon a long triangular plain that is bounded on the west by the
Mississippi River, on the south by the
Wisconsin River, and on the east-northeast by a series of tall bluffs. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city of Prairie du Chien has a total area of 16.4
km² (6.3
mi²). 14.5 km² (5.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.9 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (11.83%) is water. While the city's area encompasses most of the plain upon which it sits, portions of the plain extend outside city limits. Just north of the city limits, where the plain forms part of the
Town of Prairie du Chien, there is a small unincorporated settlement known locally as "Frenchtown". The plain also extends outside the city southward into the
Town of Bridgeport. Here the plain ends, becoming the swampy Wisconsin River Delta.
Both inside and outside the city limits, backwaters of the Mississippi River occasionally break across the far west side of the plain to form small islands. While most of these islands are far too small and flood prone to have ever been inhabitated, one larger island just west of downtown Prairie du Chien formed the city's fourth ward until a 1965 flood prompted a mandatory relocation of the island's residents to higher ground. During the relocation project, most buildings with no special historical significance were removed. Now called "St. Feriole Island", the island today serves as a 240 acre city park.
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A monument to Fr. Marquette located in Prairie du Chien |
Today Prairie du Chien is noted because of its five
National Historic Landmarks and its nine sites on the
National Register of Historic Places. Its close proximity to
Effigy Mounds National Monument and
Pike's Peak State Park in
Iowa and
Wyalusing State Park in Wisconsin, along with its rich history and location alongside the Mississippi River make Prairie du Chien a popular destination for tourists. The Prairie Villa Rendezvous, which attempts to recreate the atmosphere of a 19th century fur trading camp, has been held in the city every Father's Day weekend since 1975 and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. In 2001, Prairie du Chien gained brief national attention for its first annual
New Year's Eve celebration, during which a
carp from the Mississippi River was dropped from a crane over BlackHawk Avenue at midnight. The "Droppin' of the Carp" celebration has been held every New Year's Eve since.
In addition to these popular attractions,
hunting and
fishing have long been popular in and around Prairie du Chien, and the opening of
Cabela's fourth outlet store in the city during 1998 firmly established the city as a destination for sportsmen.
Aside from its somewhat larger than average tourism trade, Prairie du Chien's economy is similar to most other midwestern cities of its size. Service and manufacturing jobs employ most of the city's residents, with a
3M plant and Cabela's distribution center being the largest private employers. Local government is also a major employer in the city, as it contains the
courthouse and offices for Crawford County as well as a state penitentiary. In addition, Prairie du Chien contains one of Wisconsin's busiest ports on the Mississippi River, and the presence of two railroads and a small two runway municipal airport make the city a shipping hub of sorts for the surrounding area.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 6,018 people, 2,376 households, and 1,473 families residing in the city. The
population density was 415.7/km² (1,075.9/mi²). There were 2,564 housing units at an average density of 177.1/km² (458.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.06%
White, 3.61%
Black or
African American, 0.28%
Native American, 0.17%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.08% from
other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 0.88% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 2,376 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were
married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,038, and the median income for a family was $43,444. Males had a median income of $29,595 versus $20,183 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $17,680. About 6.4% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
*
Prairie du Chien Chamber of Commerce*
Courier Press newspaper*
WQPC radio*
Campion Knights website*
Campion Forever website
