Welcome to Gordon WI's Website!
The earliest evidence of human activity at
what is now Gordon was a campsite found during construction of the
new lane of the Highway 53 Expressway which dated to the
Paleo-Indian period of between 5,000 – 8,000 B.C. At the time of
first recorded European writings of this region, the area that is
now the Gordon Flowage comprised vast beds of manoomin (wild rice),
giving the upper reaches of the St. Croix the name the Folle Avoine
Country, “Folle Avoine” being the French term for wild rice. At
that time, a permanent Ojibwe village existed near the Gordon Dam,
then known as Namai-Kowagon (meaning “Sturgeon Dam”) led by Chief
Kabemappa of the Great Fish Clan. Kabemappa was the Chief of the
entire Upper St. Croix and thus was the signer of many important
treaties, including the 1825 Treaty at Prairie du Chien, 1826 Treaty
at Fond du Lac, 1837 Pine Tree Treaty, 1844 Isle Royal Agreement,
1846 Treaty at LaPointe, and 1847 Treaty of Fond du Lac.
Kabemappa’s village and the vicinity of Namai-Kowagon was a
frequent stopping place and wintering post of fur traders, including
the traders Joseph LaPrairie and Daniel Dingley, who respectively
would become the grandfather and father of Sarah Gordon. In 1832
Indian Agent Henry Schoolcraft made note of the gardens of pumpkins,
squash, and corn growing at the village. In 1847 Kabemappa was
baptized and married at the St. Joseph Catholic Mission at La Pointe
on Madeline Island, taking the Christian name of Joseph. His wife’s
name was Marie Pinessi. Their marriage ceremony was likely the
Christian blessing of an already existing relationship. Joseph
Kabemappa had two sons, Nodin (Wind) and Oshogay (Osprey), who also
became noted leaders, and a daughter, Josephte Otchipewa, who
married a St. Croix fur trader named Louis Babeux. Josephte & Louis
later relocated to Mackinac Island in Michigan. Joseph Kabemappa
eventually left the vicinity of Gordon to live at LaPointe on
Madeline Island, dying there of small pox March 13, 1854.
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