Prairie du Chien dates to 1673, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #3 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it
17 places in town are on the National Register, among them 5 National Historic Landmarks and a historic district with 34 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1823.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Prairie du Chien’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Prairie du Chien is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #3 of 362 in Wisconsin. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Prairie du Chien’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Prairie du Chien’s 98.3 sits above most of its state (94% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 54 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1673.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Prairie du Chien’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first known Europeans to reach Prairie du Chien were French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, who arrived by canoe on June 17, 1673, discovering a route to the Mississippi River. Later travel between Canada and the Mississippi River continued to pass through Prairie du Chien, although routes via the Illinois River were also used. In 1685, the French explorer Nicolas Perrot established a trading post in the area as part of the large and lucrative French fur trade industry. After John Jacob Astor's machinations had closed the entire government fur trade factory system and the federal factory established in Prairie du Chien in 1815, the American Fur Company became established in the area and later built the Astor Fur Warehouse, an important building in the regional fur trade, which was centered in Prairie du Chien. Prairie du Chien's significance as a center of the fur trad…
Passages that mention Prairie du Chien, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Historical sketch of the park region about McGregor, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin1919 · page 18Read the page →
Read the text
It is sometimes erroneously stated that the Ijiiying of land from the Indians was the object of the council of 1825 and another important one in 1830, also held at Prairie du Chien, whereas both related entirely to boundary matters of interest to the tribes of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and a part of Illinois. The discerning historian veiy correctly has styled the treaty ratified at the council of 1825 as "the celebrated treaty." It is
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Historical sketch of the park region about McGregor, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin1919 · page 26Read the page →
Read the text
the "dark room" of some hustling photographer bent on making salable post cards, but he failed to invent a plausible theory for Black Hawk's hiding in a tree at Prairie du Chien. In his autobiography Black Hawk mentions no such shady retreat. No evidence can be found of his attendance at the treaty-making council of 1825, or that of 1830. The only important occasion known on which he visited Prairie du Chien was in 1832
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Prairie du Chien, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1780s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Prairie du Chien. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1929Prairie Du Chien sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Prairie du Chien.
Every building
Prairie du Chien, building by building, 1884–1912
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1673, according to Wikidata. Prairie du Chien’s post office opened in 1823, and the census of 1860 counted 2,398 people here.
How does Prairie du Chien rank for history?
Prairie du Chien is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #3 of 362 in Wisconsin. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Prairie du Chien?
17 listings, 5 of them National Historic Landmarks: 14 buildings, among them the Astor Fur Warehouse (a National Historic Landmark since 1960), 1 historic district, the Blackhawk Avenue Historic District, with 34 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 54 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Prairie du Chien?
24% of Prairie du Chien’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1961.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (17), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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