Fort Crawford

Fort Crawford is a reconstructed military outpost in Prairie du Chien with a museum located in a rebuilt military hospital building from the second fort era. The site displays preserved building remains and artifacts from two distinct historical periods of construction.

The original fort was established in 1816 as a key military post along the Mississippi River during the era of westward expansion. It was rebuilt in 1832 and continued to serve as a strategic garrison through regional conflicts.

The museum displays military objects and medical tools that show how soldiers and doctors lived and worked on the frontier during the early 1800s. Visitors can see the kind of equipment and supplies they used every day in this remote outpost.

The site is located near the junction of South Beaumont Road and East Blackhawk Avenue and is easy to reach from the main downtown area. Plan your visit for late spring through early fall when the museum operates with full access to the grounds.

The site gained medical fame through Dr. William Beaumont's groundbreaking studies on human digestion, conducted by treating a patient with an open stomach wound. This research became an important contribution to understanding how the human body processes food.