History of Wyalusing State Park, Wisconsin

Ancient seas, glacial meltwaters, mound-building Indians, explorers, fur-traders, and farmers are some the of the people and events in the long and colorful history of the area we now call Wyalusing State Park.

Some two billion years ago very hot, molten minerals cooled and crystallized to form granite which now lies far beneath the park’s surface. Beginning about 600 million years ago, a series of dramatic earth movements caused a succession of shallow seas to spread over North America.

Over these long years the seas deposited a thick “sandwich” of sediments—which eventually became sedimentary rock. Many rivers, including the present Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers, cut into this sandwich over a 400-million-year period. Bluffs and ridges were left behind that now tower 500 to 600 feet above the rivers.

As you hike the park trails downward from the bluff tops, you are walking back in time. Each layer of dolomite (limestone), shale, and sandstone is older than the layer above it.

Native Americans

People began arriving here about 11,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated. Many left evidence of their life and culture behind.

The Red Ochre Culture appeared around 1000 B.C. They were followed by the Hopewell Indians and the Effigy Mound builders. Archeologists tell us that these groups were the builders of the many mounds on Sentinel Ridge, Spook Hill and other areas of the park.

Burial of the dead was one reason Woodland Indians constructed mounds. Most of the dome-shaped, conical mounds contain skeletons. Effigy mounds, those shaped like deer, bears, birds, turtles, and other animals, were more than just a simple burial method. Construction may have been religious, an indication of territorial possession, or a ceremonial activity. We may never know. It’s interesting to speculate about why the mounds were built and exciting to see that they still exist after hundreds of years.

Historic Indians (those encountered by the first Europeans) considered the region near the mouth of the Wisconsin river a “neutral” land. At least fourteen different tribes lived in the area or visited to trade.

Some features in the park have been named for Indians of the region. Green Cloud Picnic Area is named for the Winnebago Chief who led the last band of Indians to camp in the park. Eagle Eye Bluff, Yellow Thunder Point, and Big Chief Bluff are colorful names that honor those people who lived here long ago.

Other areas in the Park received names for the way they were used by Indians. Signal Point was used for signal fires. Indian sentries use Point Lookout to keep watch on the rivers. Chert (flint) was gathered form arrowheads along what is now Flint Ledge Trail.

Europeans

Journeying from Green Bay via the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, the first Europeans to enter the area were Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet. They recorded seeing the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers on June 17, 1673. Their exact vantage point is unknown, although it is likely they saw it from one of the bluffs in the park. A marker at Point Lookout commemorates this event.

Fur Traders

A few short years after the arrival of Marquette and Joliet, French voyageurs came here to trade with the Indians. Rivers were the most efficient means of transportation. Pelts worth millions of dollars passed through the area as first the French, then the British, and finally the Americans made their living by trapping and trading.

Buried Treasure

An intriguing story of the park’s buried treasure dates back to the fur trading era. As the legend goes, bandits stole a quantity of gold from payments at Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien.

With soldiers pursuing them, the thieves were forced to bury the loot. Only one of the bandits survived and then just long enough to give a general description of the hiding place. If we can believe this tale, “…on a high bluff near the mouth of the Wisconsin River” lies tens of thousands of dollars in gold.

Miners

News of mineral deposits, primarily lead, brought more people to the area. A man could literally “make a fortune overnight.” The early lead miners burrowed into hillsides searching for ore and used their “mines” for living quarters before more suitable housing was constructed. Because of this practice they were nicknamed “Badgers.” Thus the nickname for Wisconsin residents came to be.

There were some mining ventures in the park; however, none were know to be successful.

Farming

As the region became more settled, land was cleared on the tillable areas of the park and farming became a lifestyle. One humorous tale of these pioneer farming days tells about some of the questionable uses of the park’s resources. Many of the early settlers raised hogs, letting them run wild in the winter to forage on acorns. This practice led to several years of “hog-rustling.” Local farmers finally discovered that two men were butchering their animals, storing them in Sand Cave where ice kept them cold until late in the spring, and then rafting them to Prairie du Chien when the rivers opened.

Early farmers supplemented their income by cutting and selling firewood to the steamboat operators that traveled the rivers. A backwater (slough) adjacent to the park is named “Woodyard Slough” for this reason.

Wyalusing State Park

The idea to create a park at the junction of the Mississippi and Wisconsin rivers was both a local movement and a statewide initiative. The Robert Glenn family, who owned the land, promoted the concept of a park around the turn of the century. At about the same time, the state Legislature commissioned a report on the subject of state parks for Wisconsin.

The report, completed in 1909, recommended four sites for the state for immediate consideration for acquisition. This area was one of the four recommended. The purchase was approved by the Legislature in 1912, and the park established in 1917.

The park was first named Nelson Dewey State Park and later changed to Wyalusing. Wyalusing is a Munsee-Delaware Indian word meaning “home of the warrior.

Since the original purchase, land has been added to the park with preservation of this unique area of Wisconsin as a primary goal. The park now encompasses 2674 acres. Visitors can enjoy camping, hiking, nature education programs, bicycling, cross-country skiing, fishing, and many other outdoor activities in the park.