Portage in Columbia County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Ketchum’s Point
Photographed By Keith L, September 2, 2007
1. Ketchum's Point Marker
Inscription.
Ketchum’s Point, named for a local family, stands above the low, marshy Portage connecting the Fox River and Great Lakes with the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers. This waterway served as a vital thoroughfare for supplies and furs during the fur trade era. Used in times of flooding, the fork in the portage trail began at this landmark. The trail ascended this bluff, following the Cook Street ridge to the Wisconsin River. The 1827 Ho-Chunk Uprising, begun by the rapid expansion of the lead mining settlements, ended with Red Bird’s surrender near Ketchum’s Point. A leader in the Uprising, Red Bird moved in a group of thirty Ho-Chunk along the Cook Street ridge singing his death song. They crossed the Fox to Major Whistler’s encampment from Ketchum’s Point. The event was associated with a series of treaties which took Ho-Chunk territory and removed them from their lands.
Ketchum’s Point, named for a local family, stands above the low, marshy Portage connecting the Fox River and Great Lakes with the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers. This waterway served as a vital thoroughfare for supplies and furs during the fur trade era. Used in times of flooding, the fork in the portage trail began at this landmark. The trail ascended this bluff, following the Cook Street ridge to the Wisconsin River. The 1827 Ho-Chunk Uprising, begun by the rapid expansion of the lead mining settlements, ended with Red Bird’s surrender near Ketchum’s Point. A leader in the Uprising, Red Bird moved in a group of thirty Ho-Chunk along the Cook Street ridge singing his death song. They crossed the Fox to Major Whistler’s encampment from Ketchum’s Point. The event was associated with a series of treaties which took Ho-Chunk territory and removed them from their lands.
Erected 2000 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 451.)
Location. 43° 32.69′ N, 89° 26.937′ W. Marker is in Portage
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, Wisconsin, in Columbia County. Marker is at the intersection of State Highway 33 and East Cook Street, on the right when traveling east on State Highway 33. Marker is 0.7 miles east of State Route 16. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Portage WI 53901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regarding Ketchum’s Point. Ho-Chunk (or Winnebago, a branch of the Sioux), as they prefer to be called today, means “People of the Big Voice.”
Also see . . . Winnebago War. "On June 27, 1827, a band of Winnebago led by a war chief named Red Bird and a Prophet called White Cloud entered Prairie du Chien seeking revenge for what they believed were the executions of the Winnebago prisoners by the U.S. Army." (Submitted on September 10, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.)
Photographed By Keith L, September 2, 2007
2. Ketchum's Point Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on September 10, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,652 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 10, 2007, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
