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Layers of Prairie du Chien History, Part III

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Benjamin Fay House

St. Germain dit Gauthier House

Strange Powers House

Ravoux House

By Rachel Mergen

Benjamin Fay House

The Benjamin Fay House, located at 203 South Wacouta Avenue, was the home to Benjamin and Wilhelmina Fay, with its construction beginning in August of 1880. According to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society’s records, “As the construction of the house progressed, the editor of The Union periodically visited the property and updated his readers on the advances towards completion. By the end of August 1881, the newspaper related, ‘Mr. B. F. Fay’s magnificent mansion is nearing completion.’”

Benjamin was born in 1822, in New York, as the son of Dr. Jonas Fay, a surgeon’s mate on the USS Constitution. Benjamin was drawn to the Wisconsin Territory, after being educated in New York and working as a mercantile store clerk. He settled into Milwaukee by November of 1844. 

Following his movement to the Midwest, he decided to take residence in Watertown. He opened his own general merchandise store, and two years after the opening was able to work with others in the area to open a mill for flour production.

In 1851, Benjamin became a commissioner of the Plank Road Company. During this same year, the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad was chartered, leading to Benjamin purchasing stocks in the railroad. Eventually he sold the mill to become the secretary of the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad.

In 1853, Benjamin resigned and moved to Prairie du Chien with his first wife Martha. He established another general merchandise store in the town. 

The Prairie du Chien Historical Society’s documentation of Benjamin explains his career, “Benjamin F. Fay had established a prominent position for himself within the community of Prairie du Chien. In 1868, Fay ran as a Democrat for the Wisconsin Legislature. He was elected to the Assembly to represent Crawford County in the Twenty-Second Session of the Legislature that convened from January 13 through March 11, 1869. 

Well-known and well respected, when the editor of The Courier began a movement in 1870 to obtain a city charter for Prairie du Chien, Fay became a supporter of the undertaking. A city charter was granted in April 1872. In anticipation of the charter, names were suggested for the first Mayor of Prairie du Chien. The Courier wrote on March 5, 1872, ‘B. F. Fay is generally spoken of by our citizens, for Mayor of Prairie du Chien. He would make a very good officer.’ On May 6, 1872, Benjamin F. Fay was sworn in as the first mayor of the City of Prairie du Chien. He would be reelected in 1873 and 1874. Fay did not run for mayor again in 1875.”

In 1875, he married Wilhelmina S. Powell nee Lockart, the daughter of the prominent Edward P. Lockart. 

Fay’s glorious house raised his fame in the community. He was elected the treasurer of the Artesian Well Company and sold real estate. He continued to work until 1905, at the age of 83.

St. Germain dit Gauthier House

St. Germain dit Gauthier House, located at the corner of Boilvin and Fifth Street in the former Main Village of Prairie du Chien, on the seventh lot according to the 1820 Isaac Lee map, is an example of the French-Canadian impact on the area.

The lot originally was owned by Jean Baptiste Caron, who came to work in the area as a milieu and a tailleur. 

Following Caron’s residency, Guillaume St. Germain was the next occupant, when he came to the town around 1825. He came to the area from Yamaske, deciding to come based on an engagement to work for Forsyth, Richardson & Company at Michilimackinac for three years.

Following his occupancy, three generations of the family continued to live in the building, up until 1890 when the property was sold to Nina Dousman McBride. McBride rented and sold the house to Charles Gremore, who moved the house in 1900, placing it on Lot 1, Block 11, of Main Village of Prairie du Chien.

The house was purchased by George Coorough in 1902. The house stayed in the family until the 1980s, when the residents of the city’s 4th ward was forced to relocate.

The St. Germain dit Gauthier House, also known as the Coorough House, was one of only three houses not demolished or relocated as part of the relocation of the ward administrated by the Corps of Engineers and US Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

According to historical society documents, the structure “is constructed of hewn logs set horizontally and joined at the corners by dovetails. Within its structural details are several elements consistent with a method of French-Canadian construction called piece sur piece a que d’aronde: the length of the house is a multiple of thirteen feet, the hewn logs are on average five inches wide, and Roman numerals are present on most timbers in the house.”

Strange Powers House

The Strange Powers House, listed on the National Register of Historical Places, is located at 338 North Main Street. The house was built at least prior to 1828 on Village Lot No. 14, which was purchased by Powers in 1818 from Pierre La Riviere.

Strange Powers arrived at Prairie du Chien in 1818 from Canada, with little being known about him prior to then. His occupation in the town was as a baker, later becoming an employee of Joseph Rolette. 

Powers was not Catholic, but, due to being impressed by the work of missionary Father Samuel Mazzucheli, he decided to donate four acres of land to the Diocese of Detroit for the building of a church in Prairie du Chien.

In 1825, Powers married the widow of James Fraser, Euphrosine Antaya. The couple had four daughters, along with at least two sons. 

Prior to his death on Christmas Day in 1839, Powers and his wife sold portions of their property.

Ravoux House

Located at 316 North Beaumont Road, the Ravoux House is located north of St. Gabriel’s Church, property once owned by Pierre Antaya. Antaya was one of the three witnesses to the 1781 agreement that gave the ownership of Prairie du Chien to the French-Canadian residents.

Hewn timbers were used to construct the building, which was a French-Canadian traditional style of building.

According to historical society documents, the story of Père Augustin Ravoux was, “Starting in 1817, priests were sent to Prairie du Chien to marry and baptize the residents. The priests came, stayed a short time and then traveled to another community, living in a structure owned by a resident.

“The first permanent pastor appointed to St. Gabriel parish was Père Augustin Ravoux. Born in France, Père Ravoux came to the United States as a missionary. He was in Prairie du Chien by March 1840. He established records for the parish and continued the construction of St. Gabriel’s Church. In September 1841 he traveled up the Mississippi to Traverse des Sioux and began what was to be a period of missionary work among the Sioux. Père Ravoux returned to Prairie du Chien once more, in April 1843.”

When Ravoux left in 1841, Reverend Joseph Cretin became pastor of St. Gabriel. Cretin brought a small printing press with him, which, when Ravoux returned, the Wakentanka Ti Ki Chankou—Path to the House of God—was printed, detailing the history of the Catholic Church and the Cathechism in the Sioux language. 

Both Cretin and Rovoux administered the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Paul. Ravoux was appointed the soul administrator of the diocese of the Minnesota Territory, following the passing of Cretin in 1857, who was the first bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul.

Cemeteries

The oldest cemetery in the state of Wisconsin and the Upper Mississippi, the Old French Catholic Cemetery on County K, was blessed in 1817. It was used as a burial ground until 1840. Few graves are marked, but their is a marker listing who is known to be buried in the cemetery unmarked.

The cemetery behind St. Gabriel’s, which was donated by Powers, was blessed in 1836 by Ravoux, who determined the layout of the burials. The cemetery was the new place for Catholic burials, replacing the French cemetery. 

The Calvary Cemetery, across the road from the French Cemetery, was land given to the Catholic Diocese by Hercules Dousman. Half the cemetery was to be used for Catholics, while the other being left for non-Catholics. Over the years, the majority of the burials have been Catholic. Calvary Cemetery is the final resting place of the Dousman family. 

Evergreen, a nondenominational cemetery, was once known as the Prairie du Chien Cemetery and the Lower Town Cemetery. The original entrance of the cemetery is still on the property, saying that it was officially called the Prairie du Chien Cemetery. The entrance is no longer the one in use.

The Fort Crawford Cemetery was used during the civil war, after the fort was relocated to the mainland due to flooding on the island. The cemetery’s first burial was Lieutenant Mackenzie, who had been shot and killed by a fellow soldier. No burials since the Civil War, to the knowledge of the historical society, have been completed in this cemetery.

For a full Prairie du Chien cemetery tour, those interested can join the historical society for a tour on Saturday, October 6, starting at 12:30 p.m. The tour will include The Old French Catholic Cemetery, St. Gabriel’s Cemetery, Calvary Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Crawford Military Cemetery and the Brisbois Cemetery. At each cemetery, one of the people buried at the cemetery will be portrayed, informing people of their lives. For more details, look for future press releases within the Courier Press. 

The Prairie du Chien Historical Society

The discussion of a historical society for the area was started in 1980s by a small group of people looking to preserve the enormous amount of history that has formed the now beloved Prairie du Chien. Even though the community always supporting the Villa Louis and the Museum of Medical Progress—now the Fort Crawford Museum—the land marks never fully encompassed the Prairie du Chien history completely. 

An opportunity came though in 1994, when the State Medical Society of Wisconsin offered to hand the museum over to the city of Prairie du Chien. The city declined the offer, but the mayor at the time, James Bittner, pushed for the start of the local historical society which would accept the offer instead.

According to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society’s website (fortcrawfordmuseum.com), “The Prairie du Chien Historical Society was formed and incorporated in March 1996. The following month, the State Medical Society of Wisconsin gifted the Museum property, buildings, and collections to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society. Accompanying this gift was an endowment and financial support for three years.”

For more information about the Prairie du Chien Historical Society or to become a member, call 326-6960 or visit the Fort Crawford Museum, located at 717 S. Beaumont Rd. 

Tax-deductible donations, an important aspect of keeping the historical society functioning, can be sent to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society, P.O. Box 298, Prairie du Chien, WI 53821.

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