Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters - Portage, WI
Posted by: 
frankhj
N 43° 33.273 W 089° 25.971
16T E 303491 N 4825275
Fort Winnebago Surgeons Quarters E. of Portage, WI. Home of Army Surgeons from 1834-1845.
Waymark Code: WM2256
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 08/22/2007
Views: 8
Surgeons Quarters overlooks the site where Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette left the Fox River at the east end of Wauona Trail in 1673.
It was in this area that historic old Fort Winnebago, one of a chain of forts along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, was in use from 1828 to 1853. It is situated on the head of the Fox River and is the beginning of the Portage that links Lake Michigan, through the Fox River with the Wisconsin River, which empties into the Mississippi. In this area also the French exploring party headed by Louis Joliet and Jesuit missionary, Father Jacques Marquette, portaged from the Fox to the Wisconsin in 1673, thus opening the route used by French, British, and American fur traders for more than a century.
Surgeon Lyman Foote arrived at Fort Winnebago in 1834. He was probably the first doctor to occupy the house; his predecessors had been quartered in the Fort itself. After Foote's five-year tenure, the Surgeons' Quarters became the home of Surgeon C. H. Laub, who remained until the last garrison left in 1845.
The building and property were ordered sold in December 1853. Jefferson Davis, who had been a young lieutenant in the first garrison, was Secretary of War at the time.
Street address:
WI 33
0.1 mi. E. of corporate city limits
Portage, WI USA
53901
County / Borough / Parish: Columbia County
Year listed: 1970
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event
Periods of significance: 1825-1849
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Defense, Domestic
Current function: Recreation And Culture
Privately owned?: yes
Season start / Season finish: From: 05/15/2007 To: 10/15/2007
Hours of operation: From: 10:00 AM To: 4:00 AM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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