Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The French Fur Trade
For two hundred years, Wisconsin life was dominated by the beaver. From 1650 to 1850 the economy revolved around beavers in the way that today's revolves around oil. Before the French arrived, Wisconsin's most valuable animals were the white-tailed deer, catfish, wild turkey, and freshwater mussels, which supported human communities for twelve thousand years. But after 1650 beaver was king.
The reason was simple. In 1650 no European went to work in an office or a factory. A few worked in shops, but most spent all day outdoors, farming or transporting farm goods, in good weather or bad, sun or rain,... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | A trader relates his family history and personal adventures, 1745-1857. |
| An 1818 War Department report describes early U.S. fur trade policies. |
| The founding of Fort Winnebago and the career of trader Pierre Paquette |
| Memories of Milwaukee's first family |
| The founding of Portage, by Frederick Jackson Turner (1883) |
| An Indian woman founds the town of Marinette |
| Wisconsin Indians Resist French Domination |
| Indian Versions of Some Early Wisconsin Events |
| A Boy's-Eye View of the Fur Trade |
 | A French soldier describes how the fur trade worked in 1685. |
| Sex, drinking, and moral corruption on the Wisconsin frontier in 1702. |
| A French priest writes home in 1721 about Indians, beavers, and fur. |
| A Scottish trader visits the Ojibwe in 1765, after the French depart. |
| The history and traditions of the Chippewa Valley |
| Folklore and folktales collected by Charles E. Brown |
| Fr. Baraga's 1853 Ojibwe Dictionary |
| A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 1) |
| A local historian chats about Prairie du Chien (vol. 2) |
 | Prairie du Chien merchant and judge James H. Lockwood, 1856. |
| A photograph of Augustin Grignon near the end of his life. |
 | Correspondence of a fur trade family in northern Wisconsin, 1826-1851 |
 | A popular French map of the Great Lakes in 1757. |
| French settlers' land holdings at Green Bay in 1820. |
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