Historic Prairie du Chien Riverfront Walking Tour

Villa Louis Historic Site offers a walking tour through the site of the old Main Village of Prairie du Chien, with stories of the of the people and events of the village. The homes of Michel Brisbois, Joseph Rolette and other men engaged in the fur trade once stood along the banks of the Mississippi River. In 1814, a battle occurred behind these homes to determine control of the upper Mississippi and for a while the British controlled the prairie. With the building of the first Fort Crawford in 1816, Americans arrived at the prairie, some officers bringing enslaved men and women with them. For years, Dakota, Ho-Chunk, and many Indigenous people visited the village and then, beginning in 1825, the United States conducted treaties at Prairie du Chien with the Native nations to gain their lands. The tour will begin in the Brisbois Fur Warehouse and then continue with a walk on the grounds where these people lived and many events important to the history of Wisconsin happened.  608-326-2721