Gratiots Grove: Cultural Survival and Negotiation of Place on a Volatile Cultural Frontier

In the 1820's, the Ho-Chunk allowed the French-American Gratiot family to settle on a high plateau near the divide of the Mississippi and Rock River drainage 86 2014 MIDWEIT AP-...CHAEOLOC,ICAL CONFEP-...ENCE } • - -systems. The area was soon a sprawling community of mines, smelters, trading warehouses, homesteads, fortifications and Native American camps that was known as Gratiot's Grove. The community was multi-cultural, fluid, and critical to the movement of people, capital, goods and varied cultural influences through the lead region. Even after removal, Ho-Chunk people continued to return and visit the area until the late 19th century. Although important, there is very little knowledge of the settlement's actual place on the landscape. This presentation will concentrate on what we currently know as well as the potential Gratiot's Grove offers for under-standing frontier interactions during the lead rush.