A Brief History of Douglas County, Wisconsin

The early history of Douglas County is a story of the Indian. The first known inhabitants of what is now Douglas County were Mound Builders. These were an advanced group of people that appeared on the shores of Lake Superior sometime after the last glacier receded. They mined copper in the Minong Range and at Manitou Falls on the Black River. They pounded this metal into weapons, implements, and ornaments which were later found buried in mounds with their dead. Their civilization was eventually overrun by other tribes, mainly of Muskhogean and Iroquois stock, and disappeared as a distinct culture in late prehistoric American times.

The next major group of Indians were the Mascoutins, “People of the Fire”, a branch of the Potawatomi. They were forest hunters, who lived by trapping beaver, harvesting wild rice, spearing whitefish, and hunting deer. They remained until about 1400 when the Dacotah (Sioux), who were forced westward by the Iroquois, drove them out. From this time on, there were successions of Indian tribes from the northeastern United States invading and inhabiting this region, until 1490 when the Chippewas built a settlement on Madeline Island.

 The first known white men to visit the area were the French. In 1618, Stephen Brule, a voyageur for Champlain, coasted along the south shore of Lake Superior where he met the Ojibwa. Upon returning to Quebec, he carried back some copper specimens and a glowing account of the region. In 1632, Champlain’s map appeared showing “Lac Superior de Tracy” as Lake Superior and the lower end shore as “Fond du Lac”. Soon after, fur trading companies established settlements, while missionaries came bringing the first touches of civilization. Names and dates of some of those who pioneered in exploring the Douglas County areas were; Father Menard (1653), Radisson and Grosseilliers (1655), Father Claude Allouez (1668), Nicolas Perrot (1671), Sier Randin (1673), Daniel Greysolon Du L’Hut (1679), and Pierre Charles Le Sueur (1693). Douglas County lies on one of the major water highways used by early travelers and voyageurs of inland America.

This water trail, the Bois Brule-St. Croix River Portage Trail, was the most convenient connecting link between Lake Superior and the Mississippi River. The Bois Brule and St. Croix River systems were only separated by a short portage over the Continental Divide near Solon Springs. The northward traveler used this water trail to take him to Lake Superior, while the downstream traveler could use it to go southwest to the Gulf of Mexico, unhindered by portages, by using the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers. This waterway was also an important route in the Wisconsin fur trade, particularly when the French War with the Fox Indians closed the more southern routes. This territory was transferred to British rule by the treaty of Paris in 1763 at the conclusion of the French and Indian War. It was explored by Capt. Johnathon Carver in 1767 and came under the flag of the United States government in 1783 under terms of the Treaty of Peace of that year. Indian control of what is now Douglas County began to diminish in the early 1800’s and in 1847 the Chippewa signed a treaty giving up all rights to the region.

White settlers began to pour into the region to cut timber and prospect for minerals. In 1852, the government survey of townships in the county was completed. That same year, the first settlers founded the City of Superior. A law enacted February 8, 1854, separated Douglas County from the larger County of La Pointe. Superior was immediately selected as the county seat; however, it wasn’t incorporated as a city until 1887. St. Louis was actually the first name proposed for the County; however, R. R. Nelson submitted an amendment to change the proposed name to Douglas County after Nelson’s friend, Stephen A. Douglas, Illinois Senator, who was financially interested in the new settlement. The opening of the Federal Land Office at Superior in 1855 marked the beginning of the white man’s transformation of this area. Some notes from the census of 1860 show the population of Douglas County as 812 souls.

The first courthouse was built in 1871. The present courthouse was occupied in March 1920. It is considered the finest courthouse in the Northwest. The construction consists of selected Bedford blue cut stone and Pavanazza marble.

After more than a quarter of a century of patient waiting and many disappointments, on the 17th day of December, 1881, (the most memorable one in its history) the Northern Pacific Railroad formally opened to Superior. This marked the boom for Superior’s industry and growth.

Today there are 28 supervisors on the County Board representing twenty districts in the City of Superior, five incorporated villages and sixteen towns, covering 1,342 square miles.

Douglas County, fourth largest County in Wisconsin (land area), lies in the northwest corner of the Indian Head Country and the state. Most of the county is within a half-hour’s drive from Superior, the County seat of Government. Superior is the terminus for the 1,127 mile pipeline, which originates in the fabulous oil fields of Alberta, Canada.

 

From the Douglas County, Wisconsin "2003 Adopted Budget."

Included on this website with written permission from Douglas County.