A Native American village, known as
Chequamegon, developed here in the mid-17th century. It was developed by refugee Petun,
Huron, and
Ottawa, who were fleeing the
Beaver Wars and
Iroquois invasions from the East after 1649. Later,
Ojibwe people came here to trade, but they were not among the first settlers, according to archeological evidence. The end of Chequamegon Bay is known as the site of the first dwelling in present-day Wisconsin to have been occupied by European men. Two French
fur traders,
Médard des Groseilliers and
Pierre-Esprit Radisson, built a hut somewhere on the west shore of the bay, probably in 1658. Other traders dwelt on this bay in 1660-1663 and were visited in the spring of 1661 by Father
René Menard, the first
Jesuit missionary to the
Northwest. In 1665 Father
Claude Allouez built a mission house near the southwest end of the bay. His successor, Father
Jacques Marquette, came in 1669 and remained for two years. In 1693 Pierre LeSueur built a fort on the largest island (now known as
Madeline Island), located at the mouth of the bay. It was abandoned by the French before the close of the century. In 1718 a French fort was built on the island where Louis Denis de la Ronde had a post for fur trading and exploration for copper mines. Called
La Pointe, the fort had a French garrison until 1759, during the
Seven Years' War (also known as the
French and Indian War in North America). The first English trader to reach this distant post was
Alexander Henry the elder, whose French partner, Jean Baptiste Cadotte, founded a permanent
trading post at this place. In 1818 two
Massachusetts traders, Lyman and Truman Warren, came here. They married daughters of
Michel Cadotte, a fur trader and a son of Jean Baptiste. He bequeathed his interests to the Warren brothers; they became the leading American fur traders of the region. Truman Warren died early; Lyman maintained his home at La Pointe until his death in 1847. During the early 19th century, a village developed around the post, made up of retired
voyageurs and
fur traders.
John Jacob Astor's
American Fur Company had a post here for many years. The first
Protestant mission in Wisconsin was founded here in 1831.
Name origin The name
Chequamegon is of
Ojibwe origin. It is derived from
chagaouamigoung, a French
transliteration of the Ojibwe
Zhaagawaamikong or
jagawamikiong, meaning 'sand bar place; at the sand bar; strip of land running into a body of water'. ==Geography==