The Wisconsin Frontier

History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier

by Mark Wyman

From 17th-century French coureurs de bois to lumberjacks of the 19th century, Wisconsin’s frontier era saw thousands arriving from Europe and other areas seeking wealth and opportunity. Indians mixed with these newcomers, sometimes helping and sometimes challenging them, often benefiting from their guns and other trade items. This captivating history reveals the conflicts, the defeats, the victories, and the way the future looked to Wisconsin’s peoples at the beginning of the 20th century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1998

Reviews

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for research for Native American history paper.
Read for #Nonfiction November

Review to Come

[LeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because I have been trying to educate myself as to the history of the native Ojibwe (Chippewa) in my community. It was fun to read references to places I know and have visited as the move of Europeans (who wrote the early travelogues and diaries) into the area was discussed. Especially fun was the discussion on pp 100-104 of the Northwest and XY companies and their posts on the Yellow River—now a living history museum in “our neck of the woods.”

In the beginning, the Europeans were entirely dependent on the locals, but the locals soon became accustomed to the trade goods the Europeans brought (especially the alcohol) and dependency shifted in ways that completely undermined the local culture. Wyman does not document the injustices done the natives like Brown does in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, but the fact that it was their land and we took it is quite obvious. All treaties were made from a position of military strength on the part of the British or Americans (not so much the French, who never really colonized, but only made forays into the area for trade); the Indians could dispute the terms, but not the fact that they were being forced out. By the end, removal sounded much like Apartheid South Africans removing blacks to “homelands,” i.e. the land no white person wanted. Apparently the Ojibwe remain in my community primarily because we are too far north for a decent growing season, and the soil is not good enough for farming. That and they were stubborn and returned home every time the government tried to move them to Minnesota. ☺ Stories of abuse passed down on both sides fed prejudice. Shared experiences softened it, but couldn’t overcome all attitudes. In the post-Civil War era, some whites made the connection that if blacks could be citizens, Indians should with the result of a movement to defend their right to return to their home state of Wisconsin. But this was a pretty paternalistic attitude that Indians should assimilate, becoming just like their white neighbors. In order to do that, each Indian needed his own land to free them from the rule of chiefs, i.e. American individualism rather than community working together. Of course, taking control away from the community meant that soon 90% of reservation land passed into non-Indian hands.

The pre-European reality was not idyllic. Life was hard, hence the welcome to European trade goods like steel knives, iron pots, and blankets. Warfare, especially between the Chippewa and the Sioux, was common. Winnebagos seem to have been cannibals. This book brings the problem closer to home, but it definitely softens the indignities. The most destructive thing whites did seems to have been the introduction of alcohol, a continuing problem passed from generation to generation.

This book brings me a step closer to understanding local realities. Now I think I need to find out what there is on local history besides Forts Folle Avoine.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Wyman examines the changes in population, demographics, and opportunities of the Wisconsin frontier from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. In this detailed history, Wyman illuminates and revises perceptions of the trans-Appalachian frontier. Wyman argues that the Wisconsin frontier was an interracial, interethnic place that balanced between cooperation and conflict. Physically isolated, life was difficult. Conventional understanding romanticized the early fur trade and settlement, but Wyman argues that the true story was one of turbulence between groups of people and the ways in which people interacted with the environment. People adapted to the place around them and used the environment for the exploitation of land, timber, and minerals. Wyman argues that the decades of fur-trading were ridden with conflict and stress. Conflict arose between the various groups that were occupying the region; Indigenous Americans who were pushed west alongside the French, British, and Anglo-Americans. People rushed into the territory at various times; in 1820 for the lead mines and in 1836 for the land rush. European immigrants arrived after that. Lumber production became one of the state's largest industries until the land was degraded and all the old growth lumber was gone. Ultimately, the settlers depleted the natural resources and destroyed the native environment.

[Mountainhombre · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I hadn't grown up in Wisconsin, I'd probably have rated this as four stars. Some of it would likely be boring to someone without this background. But, to me, it was great!

I really enjoyed the passage of history from native peoples, Frenchmen, Easterners, and Europeans who all added to the mosaic of the state.

Wyman sometimes gives a broad scope of history but also gives minute details to add color.

One story that will likely stay with me (for better or worse) is how the lumberjacks would deal with their lice problem. When going to bed, they'd turn their underwear inside out. It would take much of the night for the lice to migrate back into biting position!

[Tim Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read superbly researched. Held interest through.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeper dive into the last 300+ years of Wisconsin history. It is important to understand our past so we can make a better tomorrow.

[Steve Satran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The early history of the great state of Wisconsin is one of abundance and eradication.

When the first European explorers arrived, Wisconsin was a virtual El Dorado of natural resources -- pine forests covered the north, hardwoods much of the south. The woodlands teemed with elk, cougar, beaver, caribou, martens and fisher. Rich veins of lead could be found just below the topsoil in parts of the state. Thunderous herds of bison roamed the prairies of Wisconsin's southwest and clouds of passenger pigeons darkened the endless skies.

Within a hundred and 25 years of America's indepence -- 50 years after Wisconsin's statehood -- though, most of it was gone. Trappers and hunters harvested most fur and game animals into virtual oblivion. The lead mines were abandoned, their riches depleted. Frederick Weyerhaeuser and his fellow timber barons stripped the landscape of its mighty red and white pine, leaving a barren wasteland of scrub and slash, ripe for "natural" disaster like the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871.

Mark Wyman's 1998 book "The Wisconsin Frontier" is the story of those early years. His meandering narrative tells the tale of the early explorers and then settlers who were both awed by Wisconsin's beauty and abundance, and at the mercy of its harsh elements. He combines countless facts, characters, places and dates with a lively and compelling writing style. The result is a fascinating read, well worth the considerable time it takes to get through.

The only quarrell I have with Wyman's narrative is the way he treats Hamlin Garland and Frederick Jackson Turner. Both Wisconsin natives played a major role in changing the way history portrayed the American frontier. Both were prime movers in the transition from Romanticism to Realism, and yet both are relegated to a minor sub-chapter at the end of the book. Their stories and their influence merits considerably more than a literary afterthought.

Wyman's book would have only a sad, sad ending were it published 100 years earlier. Fortunately for those of us blessed to live in Wisconsin in the latter part of the 20th century, however, the opposite is true. Thanks to the resiliency of Wisconsin's wilderness, and the resolve of her people, much that once was is restored. One need only set out on US Rt. 51 North from Beloit and take a day's drive to Hurley to behold the amazing beauty that is Wisconsin today.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to think of Wisconsin as the Western frontier. The state's northern forests only saw sustained white exploitation in the second half of the 19th century.

As defined in this book, the term frontier means anywhere there is migration and a dynamic relation between two or more cultures. It is where these cultures exchange ideas and ways of living. The history of Wisconsin is marked by the interactions between native peoples, French trappers, English traders, missionaries, Yankee settlers, and myriad groups of Europeans.

There were a lot of interesting facts in this book, but overall it was pretty dry social history. It does provide a good overview of the subject, but it was somewhat dissatisfying.

[Gary Baughn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an overview of the early history of Wisconsin, academic enough to be accurate, well-written enough to be an interesting read for anyone interested in how this state evolved. It is chronological enough to give one a sense of history without getting bogged down in that approach completely. I think I discovered in its pages why we drink more Brandy than other places.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

good. but nothing new. of course, I've read just about every piece of Wisconsin I could get my hands on.