Prairie du Chien is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821.
Hercules Louis Dousman was a fur trader and real-estate speculator who played a large role in the economic development of frontier Wisconsin. He is often called Wisconsin's first millionaire.
Hercules Louis Dousman II, better known as Louis Dousman, was notable as a wealthy Midwestern socialite and art collector. He was the heir to the estate of Wisconsin millionaire Hercules Louis Dousman, who had made a career in Prairie du Chien. Dousman had a new mansion built on the site of his family's house, and then soon moved away, living for years in St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Louis, Missouri. In both cities he moved in upper social circles.
Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during the 19th century.
Fort Winnebago was a 19th-century fortification of the United States Army located on a hill overlooking the eastern end of the portage between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers east of present-day Portage, Wisconsin. It was the middle one of three fortifications along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway that also included Fort Howard in Green Bay, Wisconsin and Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Fort Winnebago was constructed in 1828 as part of an effort to maintain peace between white settlers and the region's Native American tribes following the Winnebago War of 1827. The fort's location was chosen not only because of its proximity to the site of Red Bird's surrender in the Winnebago War, but also because of the strategic importance of the portage on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a heavily traveled connection between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Fort Winnebago's location near the portage allowed it to regulate transportation between the lakes and the Mississippi.
The Villa Louis is a National Historic Landmark located on St. Feriole Island, in Prairie du Chien, southwestern Wisconsin. The villa and estate are a historical museum operated by the Wisconsin Historical Society. The site has been restored to its appearance during the late 19th century, when it was the estate of the prominent H. Louis Dousman family, descendants of a fur trader and entrepreneur.
Jean Joseph Rolette, often known as Joseph Rolette, was a prominent fur trader and member of the Mackinac Company who operated a trading post in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
Michel Brisbois was a French-Canadian voyageur who was active in the upper Mississippi River valley as early as 1781. Originally a fur trader for the Hudson's Bay Company, he eventually settled in Prairie du Chien, in what became Wisconsin. He had two families, including three children with a Ho-Chunk woman of mixed-race ancestry.
Bernard Walter Brisbois was an agent for the American Fur Company.
The Astor Fur Warehouse is a historic fur warehouse located at Bolvin and Water Streets on St. Feriole Island in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. Jean Joseph Rolette, an agent of the American Fur Company, built the warehouse in 1828. The warehouse was used until the mid-19th century; it has since been incorporated into the Villa Louis museum. The building, now a National Historic Landmark, is the only known surviving fur trade warehouse in the upper Mississippi valley.
The Dousman Hotel, is a historic hotel located at the intersection of Fisher Street and River Road in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The hotel was built in 1864–65 to serve railroad and steamboat travelers coming to the city. The hotel was named after Hercules L. Dousman, an early Wisconsin fur trader, land speculator and millionaire.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Crawford County, Wisconsin. It is intended to provide a comprehensive listing of entries in the National Register of Historic Places that are located in Crawford County, Wisconsin. The locations of National Register properties for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below may be seen in a map.
Lucien Galtier was the first Roman Catholic priest who served in Minnesota. He was born in southern France in the town of Saint-Affrique, department of Aveyron. The year of his birth is somewhat uncertain, some sources claiming 1811 but his tomb at Prairie du Chien, WI, bearing the date December 17, 1812. In the 1830s, people were settling across the Minnesota River from Fort Snelling in the area of Mendota, Minnesota. Mathias Loras, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa learned of these settlers and journeyed up the Mississippi River to visit the settlers in the area. He wrote to his sister that "the Catholics of St. Peters amounted to one hundred and eighty five." The bishop saw a need to send a missionary to the area the next year. Galtier spoke little English when he arrived in 1840.
Fort Atkinson State Preserve is a state preserve of Iowa, USA, containing the remnants of Fort Atkinson, a U.S. Army frontier post created to keep the peace between various Native American tribes as well as prevent white settlers from encroaching on Indian lands. In February 2013 the fort was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Atkinson Historic District.
The Strange Powers House is a historic house located at 338 North Main Street in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States. It is historically significant as a rare example of fur-trade period French colonial style architecture which has survived intact and on its original site.
The Francois Vertefeuille House is located in the Town of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. It is one of the oldest buildings in Wisconsin, and is designated as the oldest building in the state still located on its original site.
The Rolette House is located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
The St. Germain dit Gauthier House is located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
