Prairie Du Chien High School - Blackhawk Yearbook (Prairie Du Chien, WI)

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Rich in History Cogriizont ot its Beouty Proud ot its Troditions -

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rairie du Chien , , , Where the Waters Meet Prairie du Chien, the sec- ond oldest city in Wisconsin, has a rich and mellow past that is the pride of every citi- zen. When Jean Nicolet first journeyed into the spacious territory that we now know as Wisconsin, the only gov- ernment in the new world France, which held claim to 17 was that of most of the land. The French King, interested in a tale told by the Indians of a great river that emptied into the Pacific Ocean, sent Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet into the territory to confirm what the Indians had told him. The two voyaguers canoed across a large body of water, which we now call Lake Michigan, down the Fox Riverg and down the treacherous Wisconsin until they entered a beautiful valley. It was from a bluff over- looking this valley that the two first viewed the Father of Waters on June 17, 1673. The two Frenchmen were overjoyed at their discovery for they were the first whitemen to see this fertile valley which was later to become a thriving fur-trading center. The first whitemen to become perman- ent settlers of the valley were Jean Marie Cardinal and his wife. They made their home in Mill Coulee and it was there that l i 1 French and Indians Barter-1675 Discovery of Father of Waters-1673 they raised their eight children. Mrs. Car- dinal, in telling of her experiences in the wilderness, said that the river fthe Missis- sippil was spread out from bluff to bluff. In the treaty signed after the French and Indian War, which was won by the British, the victors were awarded the large and fertile Mississippi Valley. With the British flag came travelers and traders. Long be- bore the Revolutionary War Prairie du Chien had'become THE fur-trading center of the Northwest. At the end of the Revolutionary War, the prairie changed hands again, this time with the Americans taking over. To pro- tect the settlers from attacks by Indians, the American government built a fdrt. The fort, built of wood, was named Fort Shelby and was located where the Villa Louis now stands. In the war of 1812 the British captured the fort and renamed it Fort Mc- Kay for their commander. American 'troops the territory and retooki the fort, this time rebuilding it and naming it after the na- tion's man of the hour, Secretary of War Crawford. By 1817 there were three schools in Prairie du Chien- two civilian and one post. One of the schools was taught by Charles Giasson, a French- Canadian scholar. In this school all classes were taught in French. In the other civ- ilian school everything was marched into