On North Madison Street (State Highway 146) at Second Street, on the right when traveling north on North Madison Street.
This memorial is dedicated to the life of David J. Jones Born in Cambria, WI, June 20, 1880. Davy grew up in Cambria playing baseball with well known local players such as the Dodge Brothers, Willard and Ben. Davy was an aggressive leadoff . . . — — Map (db m66065) HM
On North Madison Street (State Highway 146) 0.1 miles north of West Edgewater Street, on the left when traveling north.
On this site in 1844, John Langdon & his four sons erected a sawmill, a dam & gristmill. Other early settlers by the names of McConochie, Dodge, Torbert, & Williams joined in construction. The original place name of Langdon's Mill, later became . . . — — Map (db m66352) HM
On North Dickason Boulevard at West James Street (Wisconsin Highway 16-60), on the right when traveling south on North Dickason Boulevard.
This 1892 Richardsonian Romanesque building was designed by T.D. Allen of Minneapolis using local materials. It originally housed the Library, Kindergarten and Fire Station in addition to the City Offices, Police Departments and Auditorium. The . . . — — Map (db m67231) HM
On South Dickason Boulevard at West James Street (Wisconsin Highway 16/60) on South Dickason Boulevard.
The Prairie Style Library was designed by Louis W. Claude (former associate of Louis Sullivan) and Edward F. Starck of Madison, Wisconsin, and built with funding from Andrew Carnegie and the Columbus Women's Club. The library was dedicated November . . . — — Map (db m28344) HM
On West James Street (State Highway 16-60) at South Dickason Boulevard, on the right when traveling east on West James Street.
In 1919, Bank President J. Russell Wheeler and his wife, Anna May Wheeler, retained Architect Louis Sullivan. Known as the father of the skyscraper, Sullivan was to design a building that would give the bank an image of financial security, civic . . . — — Map (db m67230) HM
On West James Street (State Highway 16 / 60) at South Charles Street, on the right when traveling east on West James Street.
Governor James Taylor Lewis · 1819 – 1904
Governor James T. Lewis, the ninth Governor of Wisconsin (1864-66), led the state through the tumultuous conclusion of the Civil War. He was born in New York State and in 1845 settled in . . . — — Map (db m22918) HM
On State Highway 16 / 60, 0.2 miles east of County Road TT, on the right when traveling east.
The citizens of the
Township of Elba
purchased this land
in 1947 as a memorial
to the men and women
who served their country
in World War II.
1995 — — Map (db m65642) WM
On North Main Street (County Highway D) at Brayton Boulevard on North Main Street.
At this location, in 1846, Alfred A. Brayton constructed a log and earth dam across the Crawfish River and erected a saw mill.From this saw mill the village of Fall River was built. — — Map (db m150747) HM
On Inglehart Road, on the left when traveling north.
A congregation of German settlers had been worshipping in a log cabin about 200 feet north of this sign, on property homesteaded by James Inglehart in 1846.
In 1867 the congregation decided to build a church.
James Inglehart offered this . . . — — Map (db m74235) HM
On South Main Street at Sodders Street, on the left when traveling south on South Main Street.
The Palmer Tree, a stately burr oak was a mere acorn in front of the Palmer Family log cabin, when Lodi was settled in 1848. Its testimony to a peaceful community continues, as it stands proudly to welcome all who enter the Lodi Valley Historical . . . — — Map (db m33882) HM
On State Highway 113, on the right when traveling north.
Merrimac’s first permanent settler, Chester Mattson, obtained a territorial charter in 1848 to provide ferry service across the Wisconsin River. The State Legislature of 1851 authorized a road, subsequently to become State Trunk Highway 113, to . . . — — Map (db m1932) HM
On North Main Street (State Highway 22) 0.1 miles north of Chestnut Street (County Highway P), on the right when traveling north.
Historic Pardeeville
In 1848, New York native and Milwaukee merchant, John S. Pardee hired agents to oversee his Fox River land holdings and to establish business operations from this location. Yates Ashley, the most notable of Pardee's . . . — — Map (db m215748) HM
On North Main Street (State Highway 22) at Morton Street, on the left when traveling north on North Main Street.
1929
Dedicated to those of this
community who served in
the World War and to the
memory of those who gave
their last full measure of
devotion.
Erected by
American Legion Auxiliary to
Harry D. Jerred Post No. . . . — — Map (db m39566) HM
On State Highway 33, 0.2 miles west of County Highway F, on the left when traveling east.
In the autumn of 1828 a permanent fort was built on this site by the First Regiment of the United States Infantry under the command of Maj. David E. Twiggs, later a general in the Confederate Army. The fort was constructed primarily to control the . . . — — Map (db m2364) HM
Near East Cook Street (State Highway 33) 0.1 miles west of County Highway F, on the left when traveling north.
Home of Army Surgeons 1834 - 1845 Occupied by Francis LeRoy before 1828 Restored by Wisconsin Society, Daughters of the American Revolution 1954 — — Map (db m42904) HM
On Wisconsin Street (State Highway 16) at Cook Street (State Highway 33) on Wisconsin Street.
Considered the most important historian of the United States in the twentieth century, Frederick Jackson Turner brought a new understanding to the meaning of the American experience. He was born in Portage; his father was Andrew Jackson Turner, a . . . — — Map (db m216262) HM
On Agency House Road, 0.8 miles north of East Albert Street, on the left when traveling north. Reported permanently removed.
The Indian Agency House was built in 1832 by the United States Government for John Harris Kinzie and his wife Juliette Magill Kinzie. John Kinzie was the Indian Agent to the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Indians. He had been assigned by the Government to . . . — — Map (db m230836) HM
On State Highway 33 at East Cook Street, on the right when traveling east on State Highway 33.
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 . . . — — Map (db m2407) HM
On State Highway 33, 0.2 miles west of County Road F, on the left when traveling east.
On June 14, 1673 Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet started the portage (1.28 miles) from here to the Wisconsin River, which led to their discovery of the Upper Mississippi June 17, 1673 at Prairie du Chien. The expedition, in two birch bark . . . — — Map (db m2341) HM
On Cook Street (State Highway 33), on the right when traveling south.
Landing place of the ferry built by Pierre Pauquette and operated by him from about 1828 until his death in 1836. This ferry was in use until the first bridge was built across the Wisconsin River in 1857. — — Map (db m74344) HM
On County Highway CM at County Highway T, on the left when traveling east on County Highway CM.
Near here in 1849 Thomas Twiggs began a settlement of unemployed potters from Staffordshire, England. To help farmers on both sides of the Fox River reach his store and blacksmith shop at Twiggs' Landing, he operated Emancipation Ferry, named to . . . — — Map (db m20084) HM
On County Highway EE, 0.2 miles east of State Highway 33, on the right when traveling east.
Patriots Cooper Pixley and Alexander Porter served the cause of gaining our nation's independence while dedicated members of the military. Both are buried in Section 33 of this National Soldiers Rest. Cooper Pixley, born in Great Barrington, . . . — — Map (db m42899) HM
On State Highway 33, 0.2 miles west of County Highway F, on the left when traveling east.
1828 — 1845
Surrender of Red Bird
Noted Winnebago Chief
1827
Erected by Wau-Bun Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1924 — — Map (db m4609) HM
On MacFarlane Road at West Franklin Street, on the right when traveling south on MacFarlane Road.
This 137 building district is bounded, in part, by Emmett, Cass, Wisconsin and MacFarlane streets. Most of the houses were constructed between 1870 and 1910 and are in the Italianate and Queen Anne architectural styles.
Society Hill reflects . . . — — Map (db m20042) HM
On Agency House Road, 0.9 miles north of East Albert Street, on the left when traveling north.
This home, constructed for Indian sub-agent John H. Kinzie, served as an embassy between the Federal Government and the Hoocak (Ho-Chunk, Winnebago) Nation during a turbulent period of cultural convergence and the initiation of the Hoocak Trail . . . — — Map (db m230837) HM
On Prospect Ave at Wisconsin Avenue (State Highway 16), on the right when traveling west on Prospect Ave.
Trinity United
Church of Christ
Has been placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Trinitatus Evangelische
1871 — — Map (db m108279) HM
On Cook Street (State Highway 33) at Wisconsin Street (State Highway 16) on Cook Street.
Zona Gale was born August 26, 1874, in Portage. She graduated in 1899 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Masters in Literature. Gale then spent six years as a journalist in Milwaukee and New York.
Her visits to Portage . . . — — Map (db m20009) HM
On U.S. 51, 0.1 miles north of Loveland Road, on the right when traveling south.
John Muir (1838-1914), world famous naturalist and "father of the national park system," often stopped to rest and admire this view as he walked from his home in Marquette County to the University of Wisconsin. Muir loved the wilderness from which . . . — — Map (db m20148) HM
Near Interstate 39 at milepost 113,, 4.2 miles south of Wisconsin Highway 78, on the right when traveling south.
Early roadside rest areas were rural school grounds and country churchyards with their two little houses in back.
In Wisconsin, by 1920, curves were built to eliminate sharp road corners. Local garden clubs, with the American Legion and . . . — — Map (db m22690) HM
Near U.S. 90-94, 2.5 miles west of County Highway CS, on the right when traveling west.
Wisconsin has a unique heritage as the birthplace of circuses. More than a hundred had their beginnings in Wisconsin, with Delavan providing winter-quarters for twenty-six between 1847 and 1894. New York brothers Edmund and Jeremiah Mabie brought . . . — — Map (db m109259) HM
On County Road V just west of Main Street, on the right when traveling west.
Before the introduction of the railroad, the Wisconsin River
provided one of the most practical means of transporting lumber
and farm products to distant markets. The old Village of Dekorra was
beautifully situated to take advantage of this . . . — — Map (db m165534) HM
A living memorial to and in honor of veterans who are buried in Wisconsin who served this nation in the American Revolution and who, by their efforts, were responsible for the founding of our country.Veterans of the American Revolution After the . . . — — Map (db m43824) HM
On West Mill Street at West John Street, on the left when traveling north on West Mill Street.
Wallis/Wallace Rowan (1800-1847) was born in Kentucky of Scotch Irish descent. He was a lead miner, trader, innkeeper, land speculator, farmer, and mill owner. In 1818 he married Elizabeth “Betsy” Metcalf in Illinois. By 1828 Rowan was . . . — — Map (db m67233) HM
A living memorial to and in honor of all Wisconsin veterans living and deat, of all wars in which the United States of America has engaged. Color guard of the 8th Wisconsin Infranty Regiment with Old Abe at Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1863 The . . . — — Map (db m43825) HM
Near Cemetery Road, 0.1 miles south of Rio Street, on the right when traveling south.
In memory of
Samuel & Chloe Leonard Doud
1793 – 1860 · 1791 – 1874
Donors of Ohio Cemetery
First burial their grandson
Winfield Doud 1848
– 1955 – — — Map (db m25656) HM
Welcome to Witches Gulch
In the 1800s, Witches Gulch was a far from accessible. Centuries of fallen trees and other debris made a hike through the gorge a physical and mental marathon.
In H.H. Bennett's search for new places to . . . — — Map (db m157076) HM
On Broadway at Eddy Street, on the left when traveling south on Broadway.
In 1873, steamboats began overtaking rowboats for river excursions to see the famous Dells. One such steamer was built in 1878 by the Kilbourn Boat Company and named after Alexander Mitchell, a successful Milwaukee banker and railroad magnate. By . . . — — Map (db m156991) HM
On Broadway Street (State Highway 16/23) at Eddy Street, on the right when traveling west on Broadway Street.
This natural harbor is named for Gen. Joseph Bailey, original owner of the property. It has been the gateway to the magnificent dells of Wisconsin for millions of visitors for over 100 years. Sight-seeing boats have developed from spoon-oared . . . — — Map (db m7757) HM
On Broadway Street (State Highway 16/23) west of River Road, on the right when traveling west.
This building was constructed on the home site of General Joseph Bailey Civil War hero and a founder of Kilbourn City (now Wisconsin Dells) in 1856. Bailey became a national Civil War hero in 1864 when Porter's Red River Fleet was stranded in low . . . — — Map (db m7966) HM
Near Broadway Road (State Highway 23) 0.2 miles east of State Highway 13/16, on the right when traveling east.
Born May 9, 1844 in Martinsburg, VA.
Died June 11, 1900 at Kilbourn, WI.
On May 23, 1862 at the Battle of Front Royal, VA., Belle Boyd, then 18, ran across the battlefield between the firing lines with information for Gen. Stonewall . . . — — Map (db m8023) HM
Near Broadway near Eddy Street, on the left when traveling east.
The word "Dells" was derived from the French word "Dalles," meaning flat-layered or slab rock. These layers of rock were formed during the Cambrian period, 500 million years ago, when the North American Continent was completely covered by an ocean, . . . — — Map (db m157040) HM
Claiming that "no man can own the Dells." George H. Crandall - son-in-law to H.H. Bennett - ensured his legacy with extraordinary efforts to preserve the scenic landscape. Even though Crandall himself was involved in the tourist trade, managing . . . — — Map (db m157128) HM
On Broadway Street (State Highway 16/23) west of Oak Street, on the right when traveling west.
This building was constructed in 1875 by Henry Hamilton Bennett, pioneer landscape photographer, nationally known for his artistry, technical excellence and inventive genius. His views of this area brought the earliest tourists to his beloved Dells . . . — — Map (db m7851) HM
Henry Hamilton (H.H.) Bennett (1843-1908) is recognized as on of the countries foremost landscape photographers.At the age of only 22, with little formal education and a damaged right hand, he began his photographic career in Kilbourn City (now . . . — — Map (db m157084) HM
Arriving in the developing Kilbourn City as a teenager in 1857, Henry Hamilton Bennett began work as a carpenter. After suffering a hand injury during the Civil War, he chose a new career and opened a photography studio that still stands on Broadway . . . — — Map (db m157131) HM
On Superior Street south of Broadway Road (State Highways 13, 16, and 23), on the left when traveling south.
A Wisconsin Pioneer
One of the founders of Wisconsin Dells, Joseph Bailey completed the first dam across the Wisconsin River here in 1859. Opposition from upriver lumbermen required the dam's removal in 1860. Bailey's dream to build an . . . — — Map (db m134610) HM
On Broadway near Eddy Street, on the left when traveling east.
In 1634, Jean Nicolet was the first white man to have contact with the Indians of Wisconsin. He was soon followed to this area by French and British explorers, missionaries, adventurers and fur traders. The first white settlers came in the 1840's . . . — — Map (db m157039) HM
(two panels, side-by-side)
Indians
Indian tribes have lived in this area of Wisconsin for centuries. Jean Nicolet, a French Government representative, was the first white man to have contact with the Indians in 1634. . . . — — Map (db m157082) HM
On Broadway Street (State Highway 16/23) east of Finnegan Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
The first bridge on this site, a wooden structure, was completed in 1857. Byron Kilbourn, land speculator and politician promoted the site. Through his influence the LaCrosse and Milwaukee Railroad crossed the river here instead of at Newport, 2 . . . — — Map (db m8047) HM
Downriver sits the ruins of the lost city of Newport. In the early 1850s, the settlement on the Lower Dells developed rapidly, amidst rumors the town was to be the spot of the new LaCrosse and Milwaukee Railroad bridge. Speculators' hopes were . . . — — Map (db m157129) HM
On State Highway 16, 0.4 miles east of County Highway O, on the right when traveling east.
The mounds of this group are a fairly representative sample of those built by the people of the Effigy Mound Culture between A.D. 700-1000. It has been through excavation of other burial mounds quite similar to these that archeologists have learned . . . — — Map (db m7731) HM
On Wisconsin Avenue at Church Street, on the left when traveling east on Wisconsin Avenue.
Praise be to God
K.I.A.
Korea Durlin
Morse
Vietnam Dennis Beard
Korea
Deceased Korean War Members of Harold B. Larkin Post 187 The American Legion
"We honor those veterans who gave of themselves to . . . — — Map (db m80461) WM
WHI 2101
Ashley Bennett, son of photographer H.H. Bennett, jumping to Stand Rock, caught in midair by the instantaneous shutter. — — Map (db m157080) HM
On Illinois Avenue near River Road, on the left when traveling west.
Abundant stands of white pines throughout Northern Wisconsin spurred the first era of big business to the Dells beginning in 1833. Timber logs 70-feet long were floated down to sawmills, where they were cut into rough planks. Lumbermen made their . . . — — Map (db m157133) HM
From early settlers and lumber raftsmen, to row boat guides, steamboat captains and modern-day tour operators, love for this unique stretch of the Wisconsin River runs deep as its history. Tourism remains the driving economy for the waterway. Today, . . . — — Map (db m157132) HM
Near Broadway near Eddy Street, on the left when traveling north.
River excursions in Wisconsin Dells were born from one man's a-ha moment. Leroy Gates gained notoriety as an expert lumber raft pilot, guiding the bundled wood planks through the tricky waters of the Dells. He began to make a show of his skills, . . . — — Map (db m157036) HM
On Broadway Street (State Highway 16/23) east of Oak Street, on the right when traveling east.
Perry G. Stroud, a young attorney from New York, established this early bank in Kilbourn City, now Wisconsin Dells, in ca. 1870. Over his thirty-year career as the town's first attorney, Stroud preserved much of the city's early documentary history. . . . — — Map (db m7850) HM
For thousands of years, indigenous people have lived on this land. Wisconsin Dells is home to the Ho-Chunk, whose native land extends from Michigan to Illinois. For centuries, the Ho-Chunk people have gathered in the Dells to revitalize themselves . . . — — Map (db m157127) HM
The year 1908 brought dramatic changes to the Wisconsin River and the Dells. After many attempts at harnessing the power of the river with smaller dams, a new high dam and hydroelectric power plant were built. The Kilbourn Dam split the river into . . . — — Map (db m157126) HM
Near Broadway near Eddy Street, on the left when traveling north.
The arrival of the railroad in 1857 created a boom in tourism as an increased number of sightseers arrived by rail to take scenic boat tours. The Dells of the Wisconsin River had gained notoriety through the photographs of H.H. Bennett. But the . . . — — Map (db m157035) HM
Near Broadway near Eddy Street, on the right when traveling north.
Picture before you a white-rapids river raging between its rocky banks. The early days of the Wisconsin River flowing through this region were not the serene postcard scenes of today. The riverbed and towering sandstone bluffs were formed more than . . . — — Map (db m157037) HM
Henry Hamilton Bennett, pioneer photographer, discovered, pictured and named many of the scenic spots including this, The Witches Gulch.
George H. Crandall, and his wife, Nellie Bennett Crandall here acquired, preserved and reforested hundreds of . . . — — Map (db m157073) HM
On Wisconsin Avenue east of Church Street, on the left when traveling east.
Deceased WW I Members of Harold B. Larkin Post 187
The American Legion "They Served with Honor"
Roll of Honor (W.W. I War Dead)
Lawrence S. Christianson Otto Christopherson
Hubert Coon
Harold B. Larkin
Keith L. . . . — — Map (db m80577) WM
In memory of
our comrads.
Buried in
unknown graves.
———
Henry R. Coffin. Charles Bloom. John Chapman.
Co. G. 2d Reg. Wis. Vol. •
Clovis V. Bushnell.
Co. B. 40th Reg. Wis. Vol. • . . . — — Map (db m37975) HM
On Crawford Drive, on the right when traveling west.
This plot of land, locally known as "Potter's Field", served as the final resting place for nearly 250 residents of the Columbia County Asylum. Indigent asylum residents left unclaimed by family members were buried here from 1871 until 1971, nearly . . . — — Map (db m185566) HM
On East Monroe Street (County Highway G) at South Jackson Street on East Monroe Street.
Major Dickason
Major Elbert Dickason founded Wyocena in 1843. He platted and named the village in 1846. He was instrumental in Wyocena being temporarily named the county seat. He died in 1848 and is buried in the Wyocena Cemetery.
Erhardt . . . — — Map (db m37115) HM
On Lovers Lane east of North Washington Street (Wisconsin Highway 22), on the right when traveling east.
Major Elbert Dickason
Major Elbert Dickason founder of Wyocena, was born in Virginia in 1799. He moved to Illinois where he joined their militia during the Black Hawk War. Representing a Milwaukee land investor, he founded Columbus in 1839. . . . — — Map (db m22839) HM
Near County Road GG, 0.4 miles north of County Highway G.
Wyona Park
This site has traditionally been a popular picnic area for Wyocena residents. As early as 1905, approximately 1,000 people attended an insurance company picnic at this location. In 1948, Gordon Spear, a lifetime Wyocena resident, . . . — — Map (db m36448) HM
