Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1922-07-19
HISTORY OF VILLA LOUIS,
PRA. DU CHEN CHATEAU

upper Mississippi, scene Of the battle
Of the War Of 1912, military home OF
famous men, splendid estate of the
first millionaire in the Northwest, Sc
lect school for rich mems sOns-such
in chapter heads is the story Of Villa
Louis, the DOusman home at Prairie
Gu CHEN which has been bought by a
number of Dubuque and Chicago men.
What the next episode in the his
tory of the romantic spot will be is
not yet decided.
ut is our first plan to make fine
country club with a golf course" said
Arthur W. OLeary, Dubuque, one of
the new owners and the business rep
resentative of the company, while in
Prairie du Chen, few days ago, 'but
we may now make more Of sporting
proposition of it."
Racetrack Intact.
The half mile cushion racetrack
built by Hercules L. Dousman many
years ago is still intact, and Mr..
O'Leary says it is without question
the finest built race course in Wiscon-
sin and one of the finest in the coun-
try. The 106 acres included in the
purchase lie east of the group of
buildings of the estate with the Mis-
sissippi river on one side and ST..
Feriole slough on the other. This
tract is we'll adapted for use as an
aviation field, as Chicago members of
the company who have been at the
grounds recently with their aero
planes have found.
Stirring History.
Whatever the future may hold for
the place, however, nothing can rob
it Of its heritage of romantic and stir
ring history Tell its tale and you
have recOunted the history of the be-
ginnings of the Northwest, and sketch
ed in a picture of it's development
from wilderness to present high state
Of civilization Another story and a
delightful one unfolds in the telling.
The middle west is considered pretty
raw in its newness, yet backward
glance over the story Of Villa Louis
reveals the fact that a family of refin-
ed antecedents dwelt for 123 years at
Prairie du Chen and that an estate
as beautiful as many on the banks OF
the Hudson had it's seat there beside
the Father of Waters for eighty years.
1000 Acre Estate.
Four thousand acres OF shore and
upland comprised the Dousman estate
III it's prime. On a great Indian mound
lust back from the river stands the
spacious home built in 1868. It's
walls formerly were hung with paint
ings worth thousands Of dollars, the
rooms were furnished in massive ma
hogany and rosewood and rich hang
ings. Separate buildings used as
office, billiard hall, laundry and serv-
ants quarters in the days of the Dous-
man glory are grouped about the
home. The fountains and swimming
pool are still there and the lawns and
gardens sloping to the river and laid
out by a landscape architect in early
days, are still beautiful and can be
reclaimed with no great difficulty. Off
some distance from the home, former
" was a cluster of brick buildings,
stabling one of the finest strings OF
race horses in the Mississippi valley.
These barns were burned some years
ago. To the east of the buildings IS
the race course. Further back stretch
ing into the hills used to lie the great
Dousman farms in high state OF Gull
tivation.
Magazine Is Garage.
The 100-year old powder magazine
of Fort Mckay is on the grounds and
is at present the home of a Ford car.
Some of the paintings, part OF the fine
old library and few pieces OF antique
furniture have not been taken away
from the home, though the Dousman
family left a number of years ago.
One is the old piano which was
brought on horseback through the
wilderness in frontier days and has
the honor of being the first piano
brought into the northern Mississippi
valley.
In 1890 James Monroe Fisher, near
relative, tradition says, of President
| Monroe, came to Prairie du Chen.
His wife, Madeline de Verville, was a
member of q distinguished French Ca
madam family. To them at Prairie du
Chen was born a daughter, Jean
Fisher. who when very young, mar
ried at Prairie Joseph ROlette, part
ner of John Jacob AstOr in the Ameri-
can Fur company. After her marriage
she went east to school. On her re-
turn to the frontier post as the ac-
complished wife Of the most powerful
| fur trader in the Northwest she filled
a conspicuous place ~ the life that
! center6Q ABOUT GTdlIle uu Cu1SH' Ills
torians speak of her beauty and abil-
ity, of her gracious hospitality in
those early days when Prairie du
Chen was geographically described
as a place least of the Missippi and
west of Detroit"
DOusman Family Started.
In 1924 from the east arrived the
young man, Hercules Louis Dousman
born of a representative family OF the
Island of Mackinac. He came to
Prairie du Chen as the confidential
agent of Mr.. Aston and was associated
for a time as a subordinate with 10
seph Rolette. Displaying remarkable
ability, a few years later he sup
planted Rolette as the western agent
! of the American Fur company. In
1914 two years after the death OF Ro-
lette, he married the beautiful widow,
| Jean Fisher Rolette. Thus was
| founded the Dousman family. The
building of the home and the begin
ming of the development of Villa Louis
| Immediately followed. An historic
spot was chosen as site.
When the first settlers came to
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