Black Hawk War Era Fort Stands at Sinsinawa Mound

You usually don’t associate the word “fort” with the American Midwest, let alone the upper Midwest. Sure they exist, even in Iowa; places like Fort Madison, Fort Atkinson and Fort Dodge. These fortified structures provided a place of safety, collection of a garrison and exerted regional control over the expanding territory as the United States pushed over the continent.

We learn about the major events in our country’s history in school but rarely does the material detail the Midwest’s fortified history. How many of us are better versed in forts associated with the American Colonies and Old West? Even here in Iowa the historical subject matter of westward expansion rarely mentions local forts (in school books) and their importance to the area.

So it’s little wonder that while traveling just outside of Iowa near Sinsinawa, Wisconsin (an unincorporated community just a few miles east of Dubuque, Iowa) that this structure sticks out oddly as does the mound it rests upon.

Extreme southwest Wisconsin consists of rolling prairie hills. Prominent at Sinsinawa is a conical hill that dramatically rises off the landscape and is topped off by a crown of trees.

Early settlers farmed and raised livestock in the area – much like the practices today. Lead was mined and smelted on the mound. When Sac (Sauk) and Fox factions threatened the well being of settlers a fort was constructed. Local resident, later one of the first two Iowa Senators, George Wallace Jones built this structure.

A display sign at the fort reads, “In the spring of 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk War, I built a log fort or block house for the protection of my family…and neighbors.”

While I have not fully investigated the stone structure, it is obvious that the building was recently preserved with concrete flooring and column supports. The interior displays old lead mining equipment.

I have marked this as a subject to more fully explore. To make it even more fascinating is the fort’s assimilation with the buildings of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary. The site is motherhouse for 600 sisters who conduct educational training and spiritual relationships – just steps outside the fort.

UFO Landed in Sinsinawa's Valley of the Dinosaurs

Travel over the Highway 151 bridge from Iowa to Wisconsin (over the Mississippi River) and take the first exit in the Badger State east to Highway 11. Along the scenic rolling hills near Sinsinawa is a massive tree topped mound which served as native, mining, Black Hawk war, and spiritual centers. Save all of that for a future 42N blog post.

Continue east of the mound about a mile and you will notice a slight rise of a hill on the highway. As you crest the hill (still east bound) you will plunge into an alien world of dinosaurs and an UFO. There’s about eight metal dino sculptures in a pasture greeting you unexpectedly. New to this mixture of creatures is this UFO craft complete with a green faced alien at the controls. 

While photographing these objects of art I parked along the shoulder of the busy highway. I walked outside of the guard rail to get closer to the dinosaurs. Not surprisingly the ground was littered with discarded containers of energy drinks, beer, fast food wrappers, and miscellaneous plastics, broken glass and paper. Oddly no cheese wrappers were found despite being within a few miles of curd central, Shullsburg. Friendly Wisconsinites even blew their horns as if I cared to look at them zipping by at 55 mph rather than observing the herd from Jurassic Park, plus one alien.