Counties of Wisconsin; 27; Columbia County

The fertile Arlington Prairie is located in today's county of Wisconsin. Some coordinates in the county include 43 degrees 35 minutes north latitude and eighty nine degrees 30 minutes west longitude. I am. In 1973 on a Curtis prepared the following history of today's county of Wisconsin Columbia. Long before the written history of Wisconsin began the part that is now Columbia County was an important place to the people of early times. No one knows how many hundreds of years ago Indians began using the fox Wisconsin waterway and carrying their canoes across the narrow portage between these rivers. It was to Miami Indians who guided to this portage the first white man of whose coming there is

indisputable evidence the French explorers Louise Hay and fathers Jacques Marquette. The year was 16 73. They had been sent to find the great river the Mississippi of which Indians had told the French fur traders and the Jesuit missionaries. After them in succeeding years came other French explorers and fur traders. The Portage made it convenient to bring furs from far to the westward and take them to Mecca and Montreal. The fur trade became ever larger with many men and boats on the rivers. The French claim the territory until 1763 when it was ceded to Great Britain by the French voyagers kept on with the trade working for the British companies and finally the Americans. These traders made larger and larger boats so that carrying them across the portage became a problem. This caused the start of the first settlement on the portage but there was money to be earned by using horse or ox drawn

wagons to transport the boats and the furs. The first Frenchman to do this but built a cabin in 1793 George Washington was president then. When the United States took over the territory after the War of 1812 several French families were living in what is now portage. In 1824 the American for a company established a fur trading post near the Fox River with Pierre Plunkett in charge. The Frenchman who was at that time in the boat carrying business was from Cecil Roy whose home is now the fourth Winnebago surgeon's quarters. In 1827 the Winnebago Chief Red Bird who had killed two French farmers near Perth a sheen was pursued by lead miners and soldiers over trails near the Wisconsin River and surrendered at the Portage to the United States troops from Green Bay. His death in prison the purdah Sheen a year later so enraged the Winnebagos that the fur

traders became alarmed about safe use of the portage and asked for a fourth there. The troops came in September 18 twenty eight to begin building 420 bago to protect this route. This Ford was Garrison for 17 years until eight hundred forty five men who later became famous were among its officers. Some of them were major David E. Twiggs Lieutenant Jefferson Davis Captain William S. her navy captain Evie Sumner Lieutenant Horatio prevent Cleve and Lieutenant Randolph B Marcy. By eight hundred twenty nine an Indian Agency had been established with John H Kinsey as the Indian agent. The old Indian Agency house was built in one thousand thirty two as a home for him and his family. Part of the buildings of the fort burned in 1856 when the last Garrison had been gone