| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| James N. |
Posted - October 04 2011 : 11:04:13 AM
Originally I'd thought to leave this particular site out of descriptions of places visited, but a couple of things changed my mind: first, I'd already shown a photo of its harbor light; and second, my ruminating about the early French presence in this region. Though there's nothing left from that period, it's certainly worth remembering. Kewaunee itself is a pleasant little villiage and county seat on Lake Michigan that well-represents the many similar small towns that dot the Great Lakes shorelines. The guidebook for a walking tour of the restored Marquette Historic District of mainly late-Victorian and early Twentieth-century residences says:
"Kewaunee's recorded history dates back to the seventeenth century. When Jean Nicollet visited in 1634, it was the site of a large Potowotami village. Forty years later, on November 1, 1674, Father Marquette said mass in what is now Kewaunee...More than a hundred years later, in 1795, Jacques Veau, a French trader, established a trading post at the mouth of the Kewaunee River."
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This pleasant if undistinguished park is supposedly the site of Marquette's mass; I can testify to the quality of the restaraunt!
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Across the small harbor stands the former Coast Guard station, now private residences; nearby the old U. S. Corps of Engineers harbor tug is open for tours.
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The small downtown seen here from a jetty contains various public buildings like the 1930's Post Office. The high hill at left would've been a good spot for the Potowotami village in good summer weather, being the higest point; it's now the site for the 1870's county courthouse. ( The cannon in front of the G.A.R. monument, known as a twelve-pounder howitzer, is one of a pair manufactured by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1846 - 47. )
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Also "downtown" is the over-a-century-old former Hotel Karsten, now the Kewaunee Inn, largely rebuilt in the 1920's after a devastating fire.
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![The Mohican Board! [Bumppo's Redux!]](images/wwwboard.gif "The Mohican Board! [Bumppo's Redux!]")
