Fort Defiance was one of the last garrisoned stockade forts constructed in territorial Wisconsin. Located in the booming lead mining region, an area of early settlement, the fort was built by local settlers in 1832 when developing tensions over In…
In 1843, the Cline and Newkirk families arrived in the area followed by the Wildermuths in 1846. All were related by marriage and drawn here by fertile land and the Pecatonica River. Disillusion with their current religion and family tragedies led…