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We have gotten settled in here at the Frenchman's Landing Campground. The address for this place is Eastman, Wisconsin. Not sure why that is. We are seven miles north of Prairie du Chien and Eastman is a few miles east of that. Anyway, other than a train rumbling through about every 30 minutes this is a pretty serene place to be.Yesterday w.jpg)
e toured Prairie du Chien and the adjacent St. Feriole Island. There is not much to the town itself. You would think there would be more since this is supposed to be the second oldest town in Wisconsin. The bulk of the historical section is on St. Feriole Island. The island at one time was the location of Fort Crawford. Apparently this fort was very important during and after the War of 1812 and several important treaties with the Indian tribes were signed there. All that is left of the original fort is one a reconstructed blockhouse. This structure was rebuilt in the 1930's by the WPA. Originally the fort had two of these blockhouses. The second one sat on a mound which was the highest portion of the land and was replaced by the mansion of the subsequent land owner. After the fort was closed th+(Small).jpg)
e site was acquired, in the 1840's, by a rich fur trader named Hercules Dousman. He also originally owned much of the property that is now the town of Prairie du Chien. Dousman built a large house on the mound where the second blockhouse stood. After his death this house was replaced, by his son Louis, with a larger mansion. It is now called Villa Louis and has been restored to it's 1800's grandeur. The grounds also have the original carriage house and servants quarters. Additionally there is a fur trader's museum in the building that the original Dousman conducted his fur trading business.
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e toured Prairie du Chien and the adjacent St. Feriole Island. There is not much to the town itself. You would think there would be more since this is supposed to be the second oldest town in Wisconsin. The bulk of the historical section is on St. Feriole Island. The island at one time was the location of Fort Crawford. Apparently this fort was very important during and after the War of 1812 and several important treaties with the Indian tribes were signed there. All that is left of the original fort is one a reconstructed blockhouse. This structure was rebuilt in the 1930's by the WPA. Originally the fort had two of these blockhouses. The second one sat on a mound which was the highest portion of the land and was replaced by the mansion of the subsequent land owner. After the fort was closed th+(Small).jpg)
e site was acquired, in the 1840's, by a rich fur trader named Hercules Dousman. He also originally owned much of the property that is now the town of Prairie du Chien. Dousman built a large house on the mound where the second blockhouse stood. After his death this house was replaced, by his son Louis, with a larger mansion. It is now called Villa Louis and has been restored to it's 1800's grandeur. The grounds also have the original carriage house and servants quarters. Additionally there is a fur trader's museum in the building that the original Dousman conducted his fur trading business.Today we dro.jpg)
ve north about 50 miles to the city of LaCrosse. This is a large city adjacent to the Mississippi river. It had a very nice, historic downtown area that has been well maintained. The convention center is along the river with a beautiful park with walking paths. Throughout the city a local art gallery has placed statues of herons. These have each been painted by local artist and will be on display throughout the summer months and then will be auctio.jpg)
ned off. There are a total of 35 of these herons. We came across six of them in our walking tour of downtown. (This is very similar to the program the City of Oklahoma City did in conjunction with the 2007 states centennial last year except they used buffalo.) Each of the heron stands about six feet tall. After walking through the downtown area and having lunch at a Coney Hot Dog.jpg)
place we drove up to Grandad Bluff. This is a 540 foot bluff overlooking LaCrosse. From up on the bluff you can not only see all of LaCrosse but you can see into Iowa and Minnesota.
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ve north about 50 miles to the city of LaCrosse. This is a large city adjacent to the Mississippi river. It had a very nice, historic downtown area that has been well maintained. The convention center is along the river with a beautiful park with walking paths. Throughout the city a local art gallery has placed statues of herons. These have each been painted by local artist and will be on display throughout the summer months and then will be auctio.jpg)
ned off. There are a total of 35 of these herons. We came across six of them in our walking tour of downtown. (This is very similar to the program the City of Oklahoma City did in conjunction with the 2007 states centennial last year except they used buffalo.) Each of the heron stands about six feet tall. After walking through the downtown area and having lunch at a Coney Hot Dog.jpg)
place we drove up to Grandad Bluff. This is a 540 foot bluff overlooking LaCrosse. From up on the bluff you can not only see all of LaCrosse but you can see into Iowa and Minnesota.
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