French
Though there are not many native French speakers living in Wisconsin, the language has had a presence in the state for hundreds of years and is the second most taught language in schools.
The French had the greatest impact in earlier years, as evidenced by the dozens of French-origin city names (and even partially the name of the state!).
Note: This section is going to heavily focus on explorers. While this may elicit images of jovial bearded men hiking across “new” land, writing down detailed field notes, and carving their names into trees, they were also responsible for a lot of pain and suffering, especially by various Native populations.
Overview
“Although many Wisconsin towns bear French names, French immigration and settlement in Wisconsin was minimal. The French played an important economic role in 17th and 18th century Wisconsin, but they never contributed many permanent residents. In 1763, the French lost control of Wisconsin to the British in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). […] colorful history and powerful influence of early French explorers, traders, missionaries, and soldiers. After that era, between 1820 and 1950, only 18,398 French immigrants settled in Wisconsin, most in Milwaukee and Dane counties.”
Source: Wisconsin Historical Society Summary
Image credit: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM134100
Place Names
The name “Wisconsin” came from a multi-part shift with two main contributors. First, it was Meskonsing, the Miami Indian name for the present-day Wisconsin river, the English translation “a river running through a red place.” Father Jacques Marquette recorded it in his 1673 journal as such, but over the years, it shifted to Miksonsing —> Mescousin —> Ouisconsin (due to poor handwriting) —> Wisconsin. The modern day spelling is thought to have been established in the 1820s.
Wisconsin Historical Society History of Wisconsin Name
More Concise Summary From Wisconsin State Journal
For a more complete list of city names with French roots, explore the directory here. The following is simply a sample of various place names across the state. They are not necessarily the most important nor the largest, and if interested, I’d recommend digging into some of the other place names! Fond du Lac, Racine, Door County, Trempealeau, and Wausau are all great places to start!
Image credit: https://www.aatfwi.org/ouisconsin-swag
Somerset
Somerset, located right across from Minneapolis, is one of many Wisconsin cities with a history of French Canadian settlers.
“The first European settlers in the present Town of Somerset were two French Canadian brothers, Joseph and Louis Parent who arrived in 1850. In 1851, the brothers built a cabin near the confluence of the St. Croix River, which is the present day Apple River. […] The Parent brothers named the settlement Apple River Falls and invited friends and family to join them. As others soon arrived, a schoolhouse and a church were built and here a French Canadian community was born. To this day, French surnames are common in the phone books and tax lists of the Town of Somerset.”
Sources:
Somerset Library Digital Collections
Image Credit: Somerset Library
Image Description: Most likely includes Thomas J. Chappell and Desire Rivard, town supervisors from the first 1856 town election.
Oconto
Oconto, near Green Bay, is perhaps better known as a hub for migrant farm work, but has close French ties too.
“In 1669 Father Claude Allouez, a Jesuit missionary, wintered among the Oconto River, and brought Chistianity to the Menominee and others leaving here. French traders dealt in beaver and other furs giving goods such as knives, axes, beads and blankets in exchange. Northeast Wisconsin was part of New France that included the Great Lakes region and Canada. After defeat of the French by British forces, Oconto became part of the English colony of Canada.”
“1849 Peter Pecor came from New England and married Angelique Courchaine. Together they founded “Frenchtown“, now a part of the city of Oconto.”
Sources:
La Crosse
La Crosse, which includes a portion of French Island, is a college town in the Western part of the state whose name originates from a game played by American Indians.
“The first Europeans to see the site of La Crosse were French fur traders who traveled the Mississippi River in the late 17th century. There is no written record, however, of any visit to the site until 1805, when Lt. Zebulon Pike mounted an expedition up the Mississippi River for the United States. Pike recorded the location’s name as “Prairie La Crosse.” The name originated when he saw the Native Americans playing a game with sticks that resembled a bishop’s crozier, or la crosse in French.”
“The game of lacrosse, also known as the “Creator's Game” to the Ho-Chunk, has a long history, as there were three different types played across the United States at the onset of European contact in the seventeenth century: southwestern, Great Lakes, and Iroquoian.”
Sources:
La Crosse County Historical Society
Image Credit: https://www.lchshistory.org/things-that-matter-2016/2017/1/14/lacrosse-stick?rq=french
Image Description: “Lacrosse sticks like this one are made from a single piece of wood that is carved, and then steamed, boiled, and bent to create the circular shape.”
Green Bay
Green Bay, better known by some as Titletown, is a translation of the original French descriptor.
The history of the name is complex. In 1634, Jean Nicolet landed in the Green Bay region. It is said that local guides told him that they called the people living in the region Winnebago, which is an inaccurate prior name for the Ho Chunk that is derogatory, created by an outside tribe, and means something to the effect of stinkards or stinky people, perhaps due to all the fish that made the air smell putrid. So, the French originally assigned the name La Baye des Puants, the French equivalent for the Bay of the Stinkers. Later explorers like Marquette were confused as to the namesake, as they didn’t smell anything foul, so assumed it was in reference to the swampland. They also called it Baye Verte, which directly translated to English is Green Bay, perhaps “the reason for it was, as some said, that when Voyagers left Michilimackinac at the end of winter and followed the lake-shore south to this bay, they found the leaves green on the trees by the time they arrived there.” The latter was eventually adopted and modified by the British, who took over after the French in the region.
“The first permanent white settlers, the Charles de Langlade family, arrived around 1745. In 1763, the British ousted the French and took control of Green Bay until 1783, when the Americans won control in the American Revolution.” de Langlade was the son of a French-Canadian fur trader and an Ottawa woman.
Sources:
French Wisconsin at Fort La Baye
Image Credit: History of Green Bay
Eau Claire
Though Eau Claire had French origins, other European immigrants (primarily German and Norwegian) came to dominate the population in the 19th century.
“English traveler Jonathan Carver wrote the first description of the area in 1767, and by 1784 two mixed-race fur traders named LeDuc and Penasha had settled there. In the first half of the 19th century, French-speaking traders continued to winter in the area but it was not until 1845 that the first permanent white settlers arrived.” Eau Claire is French for clear waters. Supposedly French explorers shouted “Voici l'eau claire!” [Here is clear water] upon arrival, but this has yet to be backed up by concrete evidence. It is suggested that the name is simply a translation of the Ojibwe ‘“Wah-yaw-con-ut-ta-gua-yaw-Sebe,” which means “the water of the river is clear.”’
Sources:
How Did Eau Claire Get It’s Name
Image Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society
Jean Nicolet
1598-1642
“Jean Nicolet was a French explorer, believed to be the first European to see Wisconsin. He migrated to Canada in 1618 to serve as an interpreter under Samuel de Champlain. He spent several years living with the Indian tribes near Lake Huron, learning their languages and serving as an official interpreter for several tribes.” Some believe he originally set off with sights to reach Asia, reportedly putting on clothing he found characteristic of the continent before stepping off his boat in Green Bay, which he accompanied with gunshots to the air, but others argue that this is not factually correct.
Sources:
Claude Jean Allouez
1622-1689
Allouez was a French Jesuit missionary active in the La Pointe/Madeline Island area of Northern Wisconsin as well as Green Bay and most notably De Pere. He was an aide to Marquette and has a town as well as other historical markers named after him.
Sources:
Image credit: Wisconsin Historical Markers
Image Description: Allouez at center
Jacques Marquette
1637-1675
Marquette, a French-Canadian Jesuit missionary and polyglot, was known for his exploration of the Mississippi River.
His right-hand man was Louis Joliet, and together they led a famous 1673 expedition. “Despite sharing a goal to find the river, the two leaders' ambitions were different: Joliet, an experienced mapmaker and geographer, was focused on the finding itself, while Marquette wanted to spread the word of God among the people he encountered on the way there. Marquette's group traveled westward to Green Bay in present-day Wisconsin, ascended the Fox River to a portage that crossed to the Wisconsin River and entered the Mississippi near Prairie du Chien on June 17, 1673.” That portage later became the town of Portage.
While he is said to have had good relations with American Indian tribes, and did make a point to learn their languages, it is probably fair to say he also had motives that weren’t necessarily the most virtuous.
Marquette is the namesake of Marquette University in Milwaukee.
Sources:
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shootmathers/7131021907/
Nicolas Perrot
1644-1717
Though not the first, he was a prominent multilingual fur trader who played an important role in the Green Bay area. He was known for brokering peace treaties with native groups, but keep in mind that “peace” from the viewpoint of many in history meant something completely different to others. He is the namesake of Perrot State Park.
Sources:
Image credit: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/perrot_nicolas_2E.html