Prairie du Chien is the county seat for Crawford County
Prairie du Chien is in Crawford County
Crawford County(24) ► ADJACENT TO CRAWFORD COUNTY Grant County(49) ► Richland County(15) ► Vernon County(27) ► Allamakee County, Iowa(4) ► Clayton County, Iowa(11) ►
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On August 2, 1832, the Black Hawk War effectively ended when the U.S. Military massacred many followers of Sauk Indian leader Black Hawk at the Battle of Bad Axe, located about 35 miles north of here. Black Hawk, known as Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, . . . — — Map (db m43531) HM
The War of 1812 convinced America that in order
to control their vast country they must occupy and
develop it. In Prairie Du Chien this process began
with the construction of Fort Crawford
in the summer of 1816
Symbol of government and . . . — — Map (db m125191) HM
Lieutenant United States Army
Assigned Fort Crawford 1831
Served here with distinction
during Black Hawk War
Hero in Mexican War 1846-1848
United States Congressman
Senator, Secretary of War
President
Confederate States of America . . . — — Map (db m43642) HM
L'ancien Cimetiere Francais
Blessed by Father Dunand May 6, 1817
Here, on grounds long used by Indians,
French 'hommes du nord' buried their loved ones.
Present Markers - Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Gardipi 1845 • Jean Joseph Rolette . . . — — Map (db m43649) HM
The Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital was built here in 1831. In 1934 this portion of it was restored with original stone as a memorial to William Beaumont, M.D. (1785-1853), pioneer military surgeon.
Among prominent military personnel . . . — — Map (db m43641) HM
In 1673, Louis Jolliet, Canadian fur-trader and explorer, and Father Jacques Marquette, French Jesuit Missionary, with five French Canadian boatmen, were the first white men to enter the upper Mississippi River.
Indians directed them to the . . . — — Map (db m43530) HM
In prehistoric times water from melting glaciers cut a wide valley between the bluffs of the Mississippi River to form a broad flood plain. On it French explorers, traders and missionaries found a large and well-established Fox Indian village. The . . . — — Map (db m43529) HM
The first Fort Crawford was built in 1816, and stood on the site now occupied by the "Villa Louis." After a decade of Mississippi River flooding, the U. S. Army relocated Fort Crawford to this site, constructing the new fort of locally quarried . . . — — Map (db m43532) HM
In the summer of 1823 the steamboat Virginia
successfully negotiated the dangerous rapids at the
mouth of the Des Moines River and became the first
steam-powered vessel to navigate the upper
Mississippi.
By the 1830’s steamboats were common . . . — — Map (db m125202) HM
Lest We Forget
For us they served
For us they gave
Now in one accord
We do them honor
Dedicated to all
men and women
of Crawford County Wisconsin
who served this great nation
for God and country
in military service
. . . — — Map (db m44716) HM
On the site of old Fort Crawford, Col. Hercules Louis Dousman, important agent in John J. Astor's fur company, built his "house on the mound" in 1843. Later it was named Villa Louis. Today this luxurious mansion appears much as it did in the days . . . — — Map (db m23589) HM
This hilltop mansion commands a sweeping view of a landscape steeped in history. Descendants of pioneer fur trader Hercules Dousman built the house in 1870 atop a mound overlooking the Mississippi River, which drew European explores to this spot in . . . — — Map (db m23586) HM
Although Prairie du Chien belonged to the United States after the American Revolution, its pioneer residents were tied by trade, tradition and family to the French-British community at Mackinac and to the St. Lawrence River ports.
During the . . . — — Map (db m23591) HM
Born Lebanon, Conn. 1785
Died St. Louis, Mo. 1853
At old Fort Crawford, one mile and a half northwest of this spot, one hundred years ago, Doctor Beaumont, a surgeon in the United States Army, performed those experiments on Alexis St. Martin . . . — — Map (db m44696) HM
