Near Junction City in Portage County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Du Bay Trading Post
Photographed By Keith L, July 18, 2007
1. Du Bay Trading Post Marker
Inscription.
Du Bay Trading Post. . In 1834 John Baptiste Du Bay established a trading post on the Wisconsin River one mile east of here for the American Fur Company. His wife was Princess Madeline, daughter of Oshkosh, Chief of the Menominee Indians. According to tradition, Du Bay’s father, John Lewis Du Bay, a French-Canadian voyageur, spent the winter of 1790 on the same site, which was known to the Chippewas as Nay-osh-ing, meaning “the Point.” Because of an underwater ledge, this was the first place north of Petenwell Rock where the river could be forded on foot and therefore became a strategic Indian crossing to the Black River hunting grounds to the west. In the 1860’s stagecoaches operating between Stevens Point and Wausau took on passengers here. Lake Du Bay, created in 1942, covers the original site of the trading post. A monument marks Du Bay’s grave in Knowlton Cemetery 2½ miles north of here.
In 1834 John Baptiste Du Bay established a trading post on the Wisconsin River one mile east of here for the American Fur Company. His wife was Princess Madeline, daughter of Oshkosh, Chief of the Menominee Indians. According to tradition, Du Bay’s father, John Lewis Du Bay, a French-Canadian voyageur, spent the winter of 1790 on the same site, which was known to the Chippewas as Nay-osh-ing, meaning “the Point.” Because of an underwater ledge, this was the first place north of Petenwell Rock where the river could be forded on foot and therefore became a strategic Indian crossing to the Black River hunting grounds to the west. In the 1860’s stagecoaches operating between Stevens Point and Wausau took on passengers here. Lake Du Bay, created in 1942, covers the original site of the trading post. A monument marks Du Bay’s grave in Knowlton Cemetery 2½ miles north of here.
Erected 1962 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 121.)
W. Marker is near Junction City, Wisconsin, in Portage County. Marker is on County Highway E, 1.8 miles east of State Highway 34, on the left when traveling east. Marker is at DuBay County Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4501 County Highway E, Junction City WI 54443, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The marker was originally along what used to be State Highway 51 (now County DB) until the highway relocated. DuBay County Park is 13 miles northwest of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Also see . . . A Case of Frontier Justice: The State of Wisconsin v. DuBay. As early as 1830 the name DuBay began appearing on maps of Wisconsin territory. An 1836 map shows Prairie Du Bay settlement located northeast of the present town of Boscobel. A map done by Increase Lapham in 1855 shows Du Bay Point settlement, between Stevens Point and Wausau, as "Du Bay's." Today the name DuBay still appears on the map of Wisconsin, one of the few reminders we have
Photographed By Keith L, July 18, 2007
2. Du Bay Trading Post Marker
Little Eau Pleine River is in the background. Lake DuBay and the Wisconsin River are east (to the right) of this location.
of a colorful and controversial character in the early history of what is now the state of Wisconsin: Jean Baptiste DuBay --- trader, lumberman, steamboat- and stage-line owner, mill operator, legislative lobbyist, and linguist. Referred to as the Daniel Boone of the north country, DuBay was a prosperous businessman widely known throughout the Northwest. He also was the defendant in one of the most dramatic murder trials in Wisconsin's early history... (Submitted on July 19, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.)
Photographed By Keith L, July 18, 2007
3. DuBay County Park Sign
This sign is just west of the marker.
Photographed By Keith L, July 18, 2007
4. Lake DuBay/WisconsinRiver
Photographed By Keith L, July 18, 2007
5. DuBay Hydro-Electric Plant/Dam
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 18, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,286 times since then and 119 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 18, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
