The Old Military Road was a road built by the U.S. Army in 1835–36, connecting Fort Howard ( Green Bay) Wisconsin with Fort Crawford ( Prairie du Chien ) via Fond du Lac , Fort Winnebago ( Portage ), and Dodgeville . This first military road was a beginning of government planning for overland travel, which eventually led Wisconsin, first as a territory and later as a state, and its localities to finance its own system of roadways for various purposes. Remains of the road that exist today are listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
11-560: Financed by Congressional action in 1832 and constructed between 1835 and 1837, the first military road in Wisconsin Territory connected three forts. From Fort Howard near Green Bay, the road extended south along the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago and then headed southwest toward Fort Winnebago (near present-day Portage along the Wisconsin River ). From Fort Winnebago, the road looped further southwest toward Fort Crawford on
22-727: Is also called Military Road in some of the communities it passes through. Durbin, Richard D. and Durbin, Elizabeth (1984). Wisconsin's old military road: its genesis and construction: The Wisconsin Historical Society's Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives, p2 ISSN 1943-7366, volume 68. 43°43′49″N 88°43′49″W / 43.73028°N 88.73028°W / 43.73028; -88.73028 Fort Howard (Wisconsin) 44°31′N 88°1′W / 44.517°N 88.017°W / 44.517; -88.017 ( Fort Howard (closed 1853, location approximate) ) Fort Howard
33-622: The Mississippi River , from British invasion. The fort was built at the site of the earlier French Fort La Baye (and renamed Fort Edward Augustus by the British in 1761). The initial estimate of its building cost was $ 16,644.70. (Military History of the Upper Great Lakes) For a time it was commanded by Zachary Taylor . During an outbreak of malaria in 1820, the garrison moved to Camp Smith on higher ground nearby. Fort Howard
44-476: The Mississippi River (near present-day Prairie du Chien ). The road was underwater at times during wet seasons, and foot-high stumps in the road complicated travel. The 1973 work The History of Wisconsin described the road as "little more than a lane through the timber and a pathway over the prairie, with streams bridged and swamps ditched, the road was crude and often impassable; but it nevertheless filled
55-720: The current highways. Military Ridge State Trail runs over a portion of its alignment. An actual 123-foot (37 m) segment of the road in its original state is also preserved in Fond du Lac County, It is located on farmland purchased by Albert and Martha Raube in 1911; Raube Road was listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Other present-day reminders of the road's legacy include Military Avenue in Green Bay and Military Road in Fond du Lac. Wisconsin Highway 55 east of Lake Winnebago
66-656: The fort's closure its buildings fell into decay. Several structures were subsequently removed to the Camp Smith site, where they are now part of the Heritage Hill State Historical Park . Three of the fort's remaining structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places : the hospital , hospital ward , and officers' quarters . In the 20th century, the Fort Howard Paper Company
77-582: The important objective of traversing Wisconsin from east to west". Maintenance by settlers attracted to the area kept the road passable. The cost for initial construction and maintenance for the 234-mile (377 km) road was $ 12,000. Its modern descendant follows the route from Green Bay to Fond du Lac along Wisconsin Highway 55 and U.S. Highway 151 , then west on Wisconsin State Highways 68 and 33 to Portage, where it travels west via U.S. Highway 18 . The name survives as one for local streets paralleling
88-430: Was a pulp and paper manufacturer based in Green Bay, founded by Austin E. Cofrin in 1919. It merged with James River in 1997 to form Fort James Corporation and became part of Georgia-Pacific in 2000. Camp Smith (Wisconsin) 44°28′29″N 88°02′03″W / 44.47472°N 88.03417°W / 44.47472; -88.03417 ( Camp Smith (closed 1822, location approximate) ) Camp Smith
99-612: Was a 19th-century fortification in the north central United States , built by the U.S. Army . It was located along the west bank of the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin . Along with Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien , Fort Howard was constructed during the War of 1812 to protect the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway , an important regional trade and travel route between Lake Michigan and
110-411: Was a 19th-century fortification located on the east bank of the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin . The installation was built as a temporary home for the garrison at nearby Fort Howard during a malaria outbreak. Colonel Joseph Lee Smith took command of nearby Fort Howard in 1820, the same time as a malaria outbreak in the area. Seeking to flee the outbreak, Colonel Smith decided to build
121-577: Was reoccupied two years later. Abandoned again in 1841, when the garrison was sent to Florida during the Seminole Wars , the fort was officially decommissioned in 1853. In 1863, the United States government granted land to the States of Michigan and Wisconsin for construction of a military road between Fort Howard and Fort Wilikins near Copper Harbor, Michigan. This road was completed in 1872. Following
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