Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
PERROT, Nicholas
PERROT, Nicholas. (France, 1644-Canada, Aug. 13, 1717). Perhaps the first white to become involved in the LEAD MINING at CATFISH CREEK. Perrot, appointed commandant of the area around Green Bay in 1685, took possession of the upper MISSISSIPPI RIVER for France on May 8, 1689.
According to what little is known, a group of MIAMI visited Perrot in 1690 and urged him to build a fort near present-day Wisconsin so that they could more easily trade with him. The chief presented the Frenchman with a rich piece of lead ore found along what is now believed to be Catfish Creek.
Perrot kept his word to build a trading site below the present-day Wisconsin River. This location is now believed to have been located on or near the bluffs of East Dubuque across from the location of the lead mines. In 1700 French explorers found Perrot's settlement, well located to prevent surprise attack, and lead mines operating on the western shore of the Mississippi near what is now Dubuque.