Chequamegon Bay

Satellite image of Chequamegon Bay

Chequamegon Bay ( /ʃɨˈwɑːmɨɡæn/ shə-WAH-mə-gan) is an inlet of Lake Superior, 12 miles (19 km) NE-SW and 2-6 miles (10 km) wide, in Ashland and Bayfield counties in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. It lies largely inside the barrier of Chequamegon Point and Long Island, with the Bad River Indian Reservation to the east. Ashland, Wisconsin is on its south, Washburn, Wisconsin is on its north. The 850,000 acres (3,440 km²) Chequamegon National Forest lies largely S and W. The name comes from the Ojibwe name Zhaagawaamikong, "sand bar place; at the sand bar".

Chequamegon Bay is known as the site of the first dwelling occupied by white men in what is now Wisconsin. Two French traders, Médard des Groseilliers and Pierre-Esprit Radisson, built a hut somewhere on the west shore of the bay, probably in 1658. Other traders dwelt on this bay in 1660-1663 and were visited in the spring of 1661 by Father René Menard, the first missionary to the Northwest. In 1665 Father Claude Allouez built a mission house near the southwest end of the bay. His successor, Father Jacques Marquette, came there in 1669 and remained for two years. In 1693 the largest island (now known as Madeline Island), at the mouth of the bay, was occupied by a fort built by Pierre LeSueur. This was abandoned before the close of the century.

In 1718 a French fort was built on the island where Louis Denis de la Ronde had an establishment for fur trading and exploration for copper mines. The post was called La Pointe and a French garrison was maintained there until 1759. The first English trader to reach this distant post was Alexander Henry, whose French partner, Jean Baptiste Cadotte, founded a permanent trading post at this place. In 1818 two Massachusetts traders, Lyman and Truman Warren, came thither, married daughters of Michel Cadotte and became the leading fur traders of the region. Truman Warren died early; Lyman maintained his home at La Pointe until his death in 1847. A village of retired voyageurs and fur traders grew up here during the early 19th century and the American Fur Company had a post here for many years. The first Protestant mission was begun here in 1831.

References

• Dictionary of American History by James Truslow Adams, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940
• The Cambridge Gazetteer of the United States and Canada A Dictionary of Places. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995
• Chequamegon Bay and its Communities I: Ashland, Bayfield, La Pointe. A Brief History 1659-1883
• Chequamegon Bay and its Communities II: Washburn, The City to be : A Historical Memoir 1883-1947