Brown County History - 1700 to 1800


1721 - Charlevoix, Fort St. Francis:

Sometime between 1718 and 1721 a military post was established at Green Bay, named Fort St. Francis, the locality being known as La Baye, that is "the Bay".  In July 1721, Father Charleviox visited the region  from Mackinaw - he says that he "made a voyage to the Bay eighty leagues distant" from Mackinaw, in the company of M. de Montigny "captain of a company of troops which the king maintains in Canada" who was going to the Bay to take command of the post.

1726 - Sieur Amoritan:

In 1726, the Green Bay post was under the authority of Sieur Amoritan.  

1728 - Post destroyed by De Lignery:

The post was destroyed in 1728 by De Lingnery, and re-established sometime around 1730, located on the west side of the river, where the city of Fort Howard is today.  When re-established it was maintained as a trading center and vacated as unprofitable during unusual periods of disorder. Therefore, there was no permanent settlement there during the period of French domination of the area.

1760 - General Vaudreuil Surrenders:

Affairs at Green Bay remained fairly stable and in French hands until Governor Vaudreuil surrendered Canada to General Amherst of the British army, on September 9th 1760.

1761 - Lt. Gorrell, Fort Edward Augustus:

Lieutenant James Gorrell of the Sixtieth or Royal American Regiment arrives in the Bay on the 12th of October, 1761 with a garrison of seventeen men; one french interpreter, and two English traders McKay from Albany, and Goddard from Montreal.  Establishing Fort Edward Augustus to confirm British dominion over the area.

1762 - Indian Alliance: 

The Menominee and Winnebago tribes assembled at the post in May of 1762 to form a friendly alliance with teh English.

1763 - Pontiac War, Treaty of Peace:

A formidable uprising of all the Indian tribes west of Lake Michigan brought unrest to the area. British dominion of the area was fully confirmed by the Treaty of Peace with teh French in 1763. However, Fort Edward Augustus was abandoned by Gorrell and company when Mackinaw was captured by the Chippewas.  During the British absence,  the local French remaining at the post profited by trading with their French bretheren by way of the Mississippi to the French Province of Louisiana.

1776 - Jonathan Carver:

At the close of the Pontiac War, the explorer Jonathan Carver visited reaching Fort Edward Augustus on September 18th, 1776.  

1785 - Seven Families:

Records show that as of 1785, there were but seven families at "the Bay".

1796 - British surrender the Western Posts:  

On the 1st of July, 1796 the British surrendered to American authorities what posts were then occupied by them in the Northwest, but this had little affect on affairs in the vicinity of Green Bay.

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Last updated: January 5th, 1997