Gratiot's Grove was a mining settlement and later a frontier fort during the Black Hawk War

Black Hawk War

The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict fought in 1832 between the United States and Native Americans headed by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos known as the "British Band" crossed the Mississippi River into the U.S....

 in the Michigan Territory

Michigan Territory

The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...

 later Lafayette County

Lafayette County, Wisconsin

Lafayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 16,137. Its county seat is Darlington.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

.

History

In 1824, Henry Gratiot

Henry Gratiot

Colonel Henry Gratiot was a French-American pioneer, trader and businessman who, during the Winnebago and Black Hawk Wars, acted as both an intermediary and early U.S. Indian agent to the Winnebagos throughout the early 19th century...

 settled in the area with his brother and set up a mining and smelting operation. Later during the Black Hawk War, the settlement became Fort Gratiot. Today the Gratiot House still survives in what had been Gratiot's Grove.