Wisconsin History

Exploration

French exploration in the 1660s and 70s brought soldiers, canadiens [French-Candians], and priests to Wisconsin. Priests established missions such as the mission of St. François Xavier in Present Day Green Bay, mission at St. Esprit at LaPointe, and the mission of St. Michel Archange on Lake Pepin in the western side of the state. Canadiens and soldiers explored for a route to the West, and all of this led to the fur trade.

The first explorer to come to Wisconsin was Jean Nicolet who came to present day Green Bay in 1634 where he met the Hochunk. It is possible that Etienne Brule may have been to Wisconsin in the 1620s, but there is no written record left of this. In the 1650s, Wisconsin was visited by Pierre-Esprit Radisson and his brother-in-law, Médard Chouart Des Groseilliers, the first fur traders to the area. Other explorers would follow such as Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Joliet who would be the first known Europeans to use the Fox-Wisconsin Portage (present day Portage, WI) on their way to the Mississippi River, René Robert Cavelier La Salle, Father Louis Hennepin, Daniel Greysolon Sieur DuLhut, Nicholas Perrot, and many more.

The photos on this page were taken during a reenactment of LaSalle’s 1669 encounter with the Seneca near present day Rochester, NY at a village called Ganondagan. Although this was in New York and with the Seneca, LaSalle and many others came to Wisconsin during this period and had similar experiences and encounters.

The Fur Trade

Starting in the 1680s, the fur trade became a major part of Wisconsin’s history. By the beginning of the 18th century, the fur trade was well established in Wisconsin and fur posts (and military forts) were scattered across the entire state. After the fall of Canada to the British in the Seven Years War, Wisconsin becomes British (Brits were already heading into the western Great Lakes by 1760). Inspite of British rule, the “French” in Wisconsin remain virtually unchanged. They continued their lives as fur traders, voyageurs, interpreters, guides, and etc. Although the fur companies now had British owners, the majority of the workers were still French-Canadians.

Creole Settlement

Starting in the 1780s, a number of French-Creole settlements emerged in Wisconsin. Among these were La Baie (Green Bay), Portage, Prairie du Chien, and La Pointe. These settlements are referred to as “creole” due to their multiracial, multicultural nature. Inhabitants were a mixture of Europeans, Indians,and Méti that originally gathered due to the fur trade. The culture of these settlements was also a unique combination of all these groups with some local adaptations as well. These Creole settlements were a rather unique outcome of the fur trade.

The Creoles continued to be an important element to these settlements until after Wisconsin becomes American in 1816. With the coming of the new Yankee government, businesses, and settlers; the “French” are slowly and systematically marginalized.

Above: A photo from the Fur Trade weekend at Madeline Island where I was reenacting and teaching about Creole farm life. Notice the dog and cart.

A note on the term “creole” – There is a wave in current scholarship to start using the term “creole” whereas some have used the word Métis. This is seen especially in some of the recent work of Lucy Eldersveld Murphy, however was used early by the Rentmeester’s in their work on Wisconsin Creoles.Additonally a lot of historic sources use this term. Anyway, I have come to prefer it for two reasons. 1.) it avoids the issues that many Indian communities have with the word métis/Métis and with the fact that there are federally recognized people that are Métis in Canada. 2.) there were many non-métis folks living in these communities (full Indian and full Euro) that took on the culture of the overall. Creole is a better term for these multi-racial, multi-cultural settlements that form in Wisconsin; as it looks at the whole group regardless of their race and focuses on the shared cultural metissage that forms in these communities. In the words of Lucy Eldersveld Murphy (in A Gathering of Rivers: Indians, Métis, and Mining in the Western Great Lakes):

“Although the families who lived in these towns had Métis children – that is, of mixed Indian and Caucasian races – it would not be accurate to call these towns Métis… To do so would be to miss the point that these towns were not only multiracial but also incredibly multiethnic: A typical family might include a French Canadian husband, a Dakota or Ojibwe wife, their Métis children, and kin, servants, and other employees with Winnebago, Mesquakie, Menominee, Pawnee, Scottish, or even African ethnic heritages.”

Below are some more photos of my fun recreating WI history