Fort Crawford Museum in Prairie du Chien | History & Dr. Beaumont

Prairie du Chien is one of Wisconsin's oldest communities, and few places tell its story better than the Fort Crawford Museum. The museum sits on the original grounds of Fort Crawford, a military outpost established in 1816 along the Upper Mississippi River to maintain peace between Native American tribes and the growing wave of American settlers. Over the decades that followed, the fort played a central role during the Black Hawk War, served as the site where Chief Black Hawk surrendered to Colonel Zachary Taylor, and hosted one of the largest Indian treaty councils in American history.

What makes this museum stand apart from other historical sites in the region is its connection to Dr. William Beaumont, an Army surgeon stationed at the fort who conducted some of the most important experiments in the history of medical science. His research on the human digestive system, much of it performed right here in Prairie du Chien, changed the way doctors understood the body and earned him the title "Father of Gastric Physiology." The museum's collection also includes military uniforms, weapons, personal items from soldiers stationed at the fort, and Native American artifacts that reflect the many cultures that shaped life along the Mississippi.