Meet historic people on annual tour of six Prairie du Chien cemeteries
It’s now fall, which means it’s time for the very popular event, Visiting Our Ancestors, a tour of Prairie du Chien’s six historic cemeteries, sponsored by the Prairie du Chien Historical Society.
On Saturday, Oct. 3, there will be a guided tour of the six cemeteries, beginning at 1 p.m., at the Fort Crawford Museum, 717 South Beaumont Rd. Participants should gather at the museum, where they will board vans to travel to the cemeteries, beginning with the Old French Cemetery and ending at the Brisbois Cemetery high above on the bluffs. At each cemetery, the costumed host of the tour will give a short history of the burying grounds and then she will introduce the resident.
The French Catholic Cemetery is the oldest cemetery still in existence in the State of Wisconsin and may be the oldest cemetery in the upper Mississippi Valley. Few of the graves are marked but much is known about the people who are buried there beginning in 1816.
Rev. Augustin Ravoux, the first permanent pastor of St. Gabriel’s Parish, began St. Gabriel’s Cemetery in 1840. The earliest graves are unmarked but fine memorials were set for John Lawler, Fathers Galtier and Becker, and several mayors of Prairie du Chien.
The land for Calvary Cemetery was donated the same year that Strange Powers donated part of his farm lot for the construction of St. Gabriel’s Church and location of the parish cemetery. Perhaps there was a little competition between Powers and Hercules L. Dousman.
Two cemeteries were established within the Fort Crawford Reservation. Today only the officers’ cemetery exists. Burials from 1829 to 1865 present stories of the rich history of the fort, even a connection back to the American Revolution.
The cemetery located at the southern most part of Prairie du Chien has had several names: Prairie du Chien Cemetery, Lower Town Cemetery, and Evergreen Cemetery. Some of the earliest businessmen of the community rest here, including, for some reason, the founder of McGregor, Iowa.
Once accessible to the hardy willing to climb the face of the bluff, the Brisbois Cemetery can now only be entered through private property. Lonely and picturesque, it sums up the history of Prairie du Chien.
Besides these stories and more, at each cemetery, visitors will have the opportunity to meet and talk with a resident of the community. They will present personal stories of their lives in Prairie du Chien. Joseph Rolette was well known but sometimes not so well liked. Colonel Willoughby Morgan fought in the War of 1812 and commanded Fort Crawford. The memories of Dometille Brisbois and her niece Jane Fisher span history from the fur trade through the 1880s. John Lawler and Alexander MacGregor made their fortunes in Mississippi River transportation.
The nominal fee for Visiting Our Ancestors: A Tour of Prairie du Chien’s Historic Cemeteries includes admission to the Fort Crawford Museum. For more information, contact the museum at 326-6960.
The Fort Crawford Museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is owned and operated by the Prairie du Chien Historical Society. For more information, visit www.fort crawfordmuseum.com or visit the museum on Facebook.
