Portage Canal Segment (Atlas Map 57F)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ice Age Trail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Æ%23 @ @ MARQUETTE Columbia and Sauk Counties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COLUMBIA @ @ Wisconsin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ French Creek @ Dells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wildlife Area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ H @ @ ÿÆ @ @ @ 12 127 /( Æ% @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ F ¨¦§39 ÿÆ@ @ Columbia @ @ Lake @ @ and Sauk @ @ P Delton /(51 @ Counties @ ÿÆ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Æ%16 @ @ @ @ @ @ Ice Age Trail Alliance @ West ern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mirror Lake @ @ @ B @ if @ u www.iceagetrail.org @ rc @ @ a @ @ @ State Park @ tio @ @ @ @ @ n 33 @ Æ% @ @ 90 @ @ @ B ¨¦§ @ @ 94 @ i @ f 23 @ ¨¦§ 39 @ Æ% u @ ¨¦§ @ H @ r @ @ n @ @ @ @ ÿÆ c @ r @ @ @ @ a @ @ @ e @ @ @ @ @ t t Portage @ P @ @ i @ i @ @ o s n Portage Canal e I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s n a @ W ild land @ l E if @ Segment 33 e A @ r Reedsburg Æ% @ ea @ @ 33 @ Æ% @ U @ ÿÆ@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 136 @ Æ% @ /(12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 33 Æ% @ A @ @ I 16 @ Æ% @ @ @ 154 @ Æ% @ @ B @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ M Æ%136 @ U Æ%33 @ L Rock @ Baraboo SAUK Springs O @ C @ @@@ @ @ @ Baraboo @ @@ Segment @ Sauk Point @ @ 113 @ 51 @ /( Æ% Segment @ @ @ Æ%78 @ @ @ @ @ @ er @ v Ri @ 39 Devil's Lake @ ¨¦§ @ in s Segment n 90 23 @ ¨¦§ % @@ Æ @ o Merrimac c ÿÆDL is ¨¦§94 4 Devil's Lake Segment W State Park @ @ @ @ @ Existing Ice Age Trail, @ @ subject to change as it /(12 @ evolves toward completion @ Other Trail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Unofficial Connecting Route @ @ @ @ @ Gibraltar @ City of Lodi (unmarked) @ @ %113 Æ%60 @ Segment ÿÆJ @ Æ Segment @ County Boundary @ @ @ @ @ @ 188 @ Æ% @ @ Public or IATA Land @ @ @ Groves-Pertzborn Miles 78 Lodi 0 1 2 3 4 5 Æ% Segment Æ%60 1 : 220,000 compilation scale COLUMBIA Prairie DANE du Sac Lodi Marsh Eastern March 3, 2014 @ Segment @ Lodi Marsh @ Sauk City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Segment @ @ @ Portage Canal Segment (Atlas Map 57f) SNAPSHOT 2.9 miles: Agency House Rd. to STH-33 Wisconsin River Bridge 1 2 Th is segment takes hikers through one of Wisconsin’s most historically signifi cant communities. At the Historic Indian Agency House At the Historic Indian Agency House (when open), nearby Veteran’s (when open), Veteran’s Memorial Memorial Fields/Columbia County Fields/Columbia County Fairgrounds, Fairgrounds and Pauquette Park Riverside Park (seasonal) and Pau- (seasonal). quette Park (seasonal). From the Fox River. Hikers will not have any interaction with hunting on this segment. At nearby Veteran’s other uses Memorial Fields/Columbia County Segment overlaps Portage Canal Bike Fairgrounds. Path. At Pauquette Park and Riverside Park. Wisconsin River Levee Trail. other uses At Pauquette Park and Veteran’s Portions of this segment may be suit- Memorial Fields/Columbia County able for those using wheelchairs or Fairgrounds. similar devices. TRAIL ACCESS AND PARKING Agency House Rd.: From I-39 exit onto STH-33 and follow it east through Portage to the east side of town. Turn left and follow Agency House Rd. north to the parking area. STH-33 Wisconsin River Bridge: From I-39 exit onto STH-33 east and cross the Wisconsin River. Trail access is in a grassy area on the east side of the road right after crossing the bridge. No parking. Park at Pauquette Park on the west side of STH-33. Additional Parking: (i) Parking area on the east bank of the Portage Canal. Entrance located on the north side of STH-33. (ii) Veteran’s Memorial Fields/Columbia County Fairgrounds. (iii) Riverside Park. THE HIKE Th is segment’s name is inspired by the area’s compelling history. Th e City of Portage is located between the Wisconsin River fl owing toward the Missis- Isippi and eventually the Gulf of Mexico and the Fox River fl owing toward Lake Michigan and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean. Th e easy canoe portage here between the rivers was an important transportation route to Native Americans, French explorers and fur trappers moving between the Great Lakes and the Mis- sissippi basin with access up the Missouri River to the northern plains. Construc- tion on the now historic Portage canal began in 1838. Although boats used the canal from the early 1850s, the canal was not fi nished until 1876 when the Army Corps of Engineers completed construction. Boats used the canal until 1951 when the locks were permanently closed. Th e peak use of the Canal occurred in 1908 for recreational boat traffi c. Th e segment starts on the west side of the Portage Canal at the Agency House Rd. Trail access parking area. Th e Historic Indian Agency House agencyhouse.( org), listed on the National Historic Registry, is just to the southwest of the park- ing area on Agency House Road. Built in 1832, it is one of Wisconsin’s earliest 184 Ice Age Trail Guidebook 2014 . F N r R e ee Dixon Rd. n na x c h o h F ek CX re C CM French Creek Creek State Wildlife Area Fox F CM River Dumke Rd. homes built for European sett lers. Th e U.S. Curriegovernment constructedGovernors it Bendas a resi- dence for John Kinzie, the fi rst Indian agent to the Ho-ChunkCounty tribe. Park OverLock the P Rd. Rd. years, the Agency House has also been used as a tavern,Rd. trading post andGehl Rd. board- 39 Fox ing house. Th e Kinzies’ granddaughterCX was Juliett e Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. 51 From the Trail access parking area, hikers will cross a footbridge and walk on a fl at, wide, packed-gravel path that follows along the east bank of the River Portage Canal for about three-quarters of a mile to another Trail parking area, just north of STH-33, that includes benches and a kiosk. From this parking area, the Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s Quarters (fortwinnebagosurgeonsquarters.org) is a 0.5- Dumke Rd. mile side trip northeast on STH-33. Th e Surgeon’s Quarters is the only remain- ing building of Fort Winnebago, a National Historic Landmark (1828–1845). Among other functions, the fort protected traffi c crossing Clarkthe Fox– WisconsinRd. portage. F Hikers shouldX head south under the STH-33 bridge and continue along the canal to another underpass, this one of anRd. active railway. Th e boardwalk under this second underpass can beCurrie very slippery when wet. Th e segment continues briefl y through woods bordering the canal and then emerges onto a mowed area. Aft er passing behind a largeCX yellow metal building, hikers should immediately turn left out to Mullett Street (NC2). Th e segment follows Mullett Street southwest to a 3-way intersection with Dodge and Th ompson Streets. Hikers should turn right on Th ompson Street and shortly rejoin the now-restored Portage Canal, turning left along a bike trail F 127 39 o x EE R i ver F Historic Indian Agency House 16 P CX EE Rd. 33 Portage Fort Winnebago Surgeon’s AgencyP House Quarters O 51 Fox Amtrak Station 33 De Witt St. Canal 12.4 CR 16 to John Wisconsin St. Veteran’s River Portage Memorial Fields/ Muir Park NC2 Columbia County Segment Cook St. Fairgrounds MacFarlane Rd. MacFarlane P St. P Cook St. 33 Mullett St. Pauquette P Park Edgewater Wisconsin St. Wisc onsin Fairfield St. Ontario R 21.7-mi ive Swan Lake Riverside r CR to 0 ½ 1 39 St. Park State Sauk Point 51 miles Wildlife Area Segment 16 Wood St. Northern Columbia33 County 185 Segment 47 Marquette & Portage Canal page 211 01/30/14 beside the canal that passes by the historic wooden feed mill which was initially constructed in 1862. Upon reaching busy Wisconsin Avenue (USH-51), hikers should cross using the marked crosswalks and then rejoin the bike path next to the canal. The segment passes the Wisconsin River lock, jogs to the right on Lock Street and then follows Edgewater Street to the left. Along the way the segment passes 506 Edgewater Street, a large white Greek Revival style house built in 1906 by Pulitzer Prize winning author Zona Gale. Her study and other exhibits on local history can be seen nearby at the Museum at the Portage (portagemuseum.org) located about half a mile off the Trail at 804 MacFarlane Road in a house where the author lived after her marriage. His- torian Fredrick Jackson Turner also called Portage home. The segment ends at a Trail access sign in a grassy area near the STH-33 Wis- consin River bridge. Across STH-33 is Pauquette Park. The park is named after Pierre Pauquette, an agent for the American Fur Company, who operated a ferry and trading post at the site between the mid-1820s and 1834. AREA SErvicES Portage: Restaurant, grocery store, convenience store, general shopping, lodging, camping, library and medical care. On Trail. Most services on USH-51/STH-16/Wisconsin St. and on STH-33. Camp- ing, water, restrooms and showers at Veteran’s Memorial Fields/Columbia County Fairgrounds (608- 742-2178, portagewi.gov; available during nonevent weekends and weekdays). From the Trail route on Mullett St. take Griffith St. 3 blocks southeast. It is located between Superior St. and Wauona Trail. For area info, contact the Portage Area Chamber of Commerce (608-742-6242 or 800-474- 2525, portagewi.com). Train service at the Portage Amtrak Station (400 W. Oneida St., 800-872-7245, amtrak. com), an unstaffed station consisting of a small waiting room with no station services. The great memories and amazing people that combine to make the numerous highs of my trip are far too many to name. I believe the only way to truly understand the magnitude of the peaks and valleys during the trip is to embark on a journey of your own. PAUL BIRRITTELLA, ICE AGE TRAIL THOUSAND-MILER 186 Ice Age Trail Guidebook 2014 Must-Have Ice Age Trail Books! The Ice Age Trail Guidebook 2014 features more than 100 detailed segment-by-segment descriptions and maps to help you connect with the thousand-mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail.