PRAIRIE DU CHIEN — The celebration here will be centered on St. Feriole Island, a historic, flood-prone spot along the Mississippi River that was an active fur trading stop and later home to the Dousman House, a grand hotel constructed in 1864 to serve railroad passengers traveling to and from Milwaukee.
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This painting that depicts the expedition of Marquette and Jolliet is part of an exhibit at the Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien. A celebration commemorating the expedition's 350th anniversary begins Thursday night and concludes June 18 and is expected to draw 30,000 people to the city.
Just over 3 miles to the south of Prairie du Chien is the confluence of the Mississippi River, bottom, and the Wisconsin River, top right, where Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet paddled in June 1673. This view is seen from Pike's Peak State Park in Iowa and also shows the bluffs of Wyalusing State Park in the distance.
This is a map created by Louis Jolliet based on his travels in 1673 with Father Jacques Marquette. Wisconsin is at right with the Mississippi River flowing from right to left.
Medallions that commemorate the 350th anniversary of Marquette and Jolliet's expedition are being sold for $15 in Prairie du Chien.
Mike Valley's family came to Prairie du Chien in the 1700s. He's now a commercial fisherman who owns Valley Fish and Cheese but is also an avid collector of historical artifacts. The plate is filled with trading beads and turtle claws that he has found through the years.
Mary Antoine, a board member of the Prairie du Chien Historical Society shows off an exhibit about Marquette and Jolliet at the Fort Crawford Museum.
Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet would have encountered this view in what is now Bridgeport as they paddled west in 1673 on the Wisconsin River near Prairie du Chien. The bluff in the distance is Wyalusing State Park.
A statue of Father Jacques Marquette towers over the Wisconsin Visitor Center in Prairie du Chien. The monument was built in 1910 and moved to this spot near the Mississippi River in 1937.
Photos: Documenting the shipwrecks of Wisconsin
Shipwrecks
Laminated dive cards showing the history and locations of scores of shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters have been created by the Wisconsin Historical Society and can be purchased by those wishing to visit a wreck.
Shipwrecks
Chris Spoo, a volunteer diver with the Wisconsin Historical Society, takes measurements last month on the Advance, located in about 85 feet of water off Cedar Grove in Sheboygan County.
Shipwrecks
Caitlin Zant views hand-drawn renderings of Lake Michigan shipwrecks in her office at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison.
Shipwrecks
Maritime archaeologist Caitlin Zant uses a light table in her office at the Wisconsin Historical Society to add ink to a rendering of the Advance, a 117-foot-long schooner that sank in 1885. The wreck is now within the official boundaries of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, the 15th sanctuary of its kind in the country.
Shipwrecks
Caitlin Zant, a maritime archeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society, explains this three-dimensional rendering of the Abiah, which was built in 1848 and sank in 1854 off Sheboygan. The image was created with a computer and a remote underwater vehicle since the wreck is in about 220 feet of water.
Shipwrecks
Caitlin Zant uses an ink pen to trace a pencil drawing of the Advance. The ink drawing will allow it to be digitally reproduced and shared on websites, in educational material and on dive cards for those wishing to visit the wreck.
Shipwrecks
Caitlin Zant, a certified diver since 2012, was in her element last month as she dove the Advance. The maritime archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society uses a mechanical pencil to draw sketches and record measurements on Mylar paper.
Shipwreck Research 07-07272021160451
A diver swims over the two masted schooner Walter B. Allen, sunk in 1880. Credit: Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
