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

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ed St. Maryls Academy. In 1875 a public high school was organized. By 1854 the Hrst railroad reached Prai- rie du Chien. It was known as the Milwau- kee and Mississippi, but was soon purchased a second railroad entered Prairie du Chien, This time from the south. During the years since Father Marquette and Louis Joliet first came to the valley, the prairie had changed greatly. A thriving commun- ity, supporting many indus- tries, has grown out of the wilderness but the spirit of the pioneers is always pre- sent.. Those of us who call Prairie du Chien home, are proud of the history of this corner of Wisconsin and will long remember the heritage that is ours to keep. by the Milwaukee Road which still operates it. In 1874 John Lawler received his patent for a pontoon -bridge across the Mississippi and the railroad spread out over the state of Iowa and surrounding territory. In 1885 Dr. Beaumont and Alexis St. Martin at Fort Hospital The Gagnier Murder, 1827

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taught in English by Willard Keyes. The post school was under the charge of Ser- geant Reeseden. At about this time a second fort was built. This fort stood on higher land across the St. Feriole slough. This one was built of stone and was located where St. Mary's Academy now stands. Many famous soldiers fort-the most famous being Taylor, who later became President of the United States. Another famous man stationed at the Fort was Lt. Jefferson Davis, who later assumed the post of President of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War. The fort of 1816 was equipped with all the modern conven- iences of the day. It had blacksmith and cobbler shops, a recreation room, a hospi- tal and a jail. It was in the fort hospital that Dr. Wil- liam Beaumont experimented with the stomach of Alexis served at this Col. Zachory ' P1 St. Martin. The young half- Americans Surrender to British, 1814 - the stomach and Dr. Beaumont did every- thing in his power to heal the wound, but to no avail. Then he began to experiment with the gastric juices of the man's stomach. Fifty-six of the 208 experiments were made here, after which Dr. Beaumont retired to his of1ice at the fort to compile his notes. He published these notes in New York and they have aided doctors ever since. The stone Fort Crawford remained in the service of the United States until the end of the Civil YVar in 1865. modeled the home to the form we see it today. Prairie du Chien has had at least one school in opera- tion since 1818. The first real school building was erect- ed by James Lockwood. The school was 20x20 feet and was located in the vicinity of Campion. In 1871 the Col- lege of the Sacred Heart fnow known as Campionj was opened by the Christian Brothers, and in 1872 the Sisters of Notre Dame open- Part of the V. . ,.. . breed had been wounded in hospital is still standing. The Villa Louis, the baronial home of Col. Hercules L. Dousman, hrst millionaire in the Wisconsin territory, was built on an Indian mound in 1843. The Villa soon be- came the showplace of the Northwest. Dous- man played a large part in the formation of the states of NVisconsin, in 1848, and Min- nesota. His widow, whom he married on the death of her husband and his partner, Jane Fisher Rolette, remained at the Villa until her death in 1882. In 1872 she re- Erection of First Fort Crawford, 1816

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MW WEDWN mafia 1 V' I know a town all through Better than I know myself. Sometimes I think it is myself. I know this little town lives unproclaimed On the banks of a rushing river. I know that it is there, And it rests me to know. In the quiet of this town There is something living greatly- I know that too. When I was little I knew it. We played, we always played. The out-of-doors was ours. The town, the prairie, the hills and the rivers Given with God's prodigality. We made new games to fit the great playground. We played, we always played: Old and young played. We didn't take God on faith- There He stood out in the open And we worshipped I-Iim, Our hearts bursting with the full-blooded joy of it. VVe worshipped Him, In the rain and the snow and the sun. In the summer A lavender lady's-slipper, Suddenly come upon in the hills, Was The The The The The an adventure. rock-hung couleesg rainbow pearls locked in the flesh of the river clams, unkempt shaggy sloughs hiding from the enterprising river: silent voices of the trees on the great log-rafts traveling from Minnesota woods to St. Louis, season when the hills rang with songs of the nut-gatherers, A llock of wild geese Hying south: The Indians hot palette splashed on October hills, All, all were adventures. And when their brothers called from Picardy, Old and young came from the hills, the fields, the mills, To fight as they played And to pray as they fought: There's nothing to worry about. In the hills by a rushing river A lavender lady's-slipper blows. I know that it is there- It rests me to know- I like to think about it. -Laura Sherry Old Prairie du Chien ii