Fort Trempealeau was founded in 1685 by

Nicholas Perrot Nicolas Perrot (–1717), a French explorer, fur trader, and diplomat, was one of the first European men to travel in the Upper Mississippi Valley, in what is now Wisconsin and Minnesota. Biography Nicolas Perrot was born in France between 1641 ...

and a groupe of

Canadiens French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the provi ...

. In the fall of 1685, Perrot and his men arrived at Mont Trempealeau by canoe. The Winnebagos called this mountain, ''Hay-nee-ah-cheh'', or the mountain in the water. That is why Perrot called it in French, ''la montagne qui trempe à l'eau,'' or Trempealeau mountain. There, Perrot and his men built a protective shelter in preparation for winter. Several weeks earlier they had left La Baye Green Bay and crossed

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

via the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...

s to reach the

Mississippi Valley The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The purpose of this expedition was to establish alliances with the

Ioway The Iowa, also known as Ioway or Báxoje (, "grey snow people"), are a Native American tribe. Historically, they spoke a Chiwere Siouan language. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes: the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma ...

and

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

Indians in order to expand French interests in the fur trade market. Although Perrot's venture was not the first French excursion into the upper Mississippi Valley, his was the first attempt to establish a foothold in this region. In the spring of 1686 the Trempealeau site was abandoned for a more advantageous location along

Lake Pepin Lake Pepin ( ) is a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River on the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is located in a valley carved by the outflow of an enormous glacial lake at the end of the last Ice Age. ...

where Perrot built Fort Saint Antoine. Over the next thirty-five years French economic fortunes in the upper Mississippi Valley waxed and waned. It was not until 1731, and the end of the Fox Indian wars, that the French under the command of

René Godefroy, sieur de Linctot René Godefroy, Sieur de Linctot de Tonnancour (May 17, 1675 – March 27, 1748) was an early Canadien settler. He was from an early, prominent, French Canadian family. The son of Michel Godefroy de Linctot, who was said to be the first Europea ...

returned to Trempealeau and established another trading post.

References

1685 establishments in the French colonial empire Forts in Wisconsin Trempealeau County, Wisconsin French forts in the United States {{Fort-stub

See also

References