Let's have some fun: Have I discovered an unknown fort in Marathon County?

I recently ran across an old, dilapidated dairy farm complex in northeast Marathon County that I simply could not stay away from. I was surprised to see my fantasies blossom as I looked at the ruins and studied my photography. Given my imagination, I am wondering if in fact I have found a great, old, lost and unknown fort in Marathon County when no one else was looking! I'll walk you through my archeological discoveries! Flip on your imagination switch and come along for the ride.

By Ed Marek

April 28, 2009

Since I started this web site a few years ago, I have learned that I am a glutton for certain kinds of things in our state. For example, I have not yet seen a dam on a river or stream in Wisconsin I didn't love. Same goes for any kind of water falls or fast moving streams, old wonderful buildings, old classic cars, and classic barns. I now find that I am easy prey for old, dilapidated worn out barn complexes. I just did a story entitled, "A most interesting old barn in small town Hutchins" which I hope you look at. I had a riot with that one.

I recently ran across an old, dilapidated dairy farm complex in northeast Marathon County that I simply could not stay away from. I was surprised to see my fantasies blossom as I looked at the ruins and studied my photography.

When I was a kid, I was a nut over the feudal days, the castles, all that. Living in Buffalo, New York, my dad always took me to old Ft. Niagara and since then I've never seen an old time fort I didn't love. That's where this old dairy farm on the corner of Highland and Sportsman Drives took me when I first approached it.

Let me show you what I mean.

The ruins were located in the yellow box on the MapQuest aerial. It was April so I did not have all that foliage.

Here's what I saw from Sportsman Drive. I may be 65, but wearing my six year old cap, that looks like a turret on the right to me, and some broken down fortifications behind the brush. So out I got for a closer look.

Okay, so some grown-ups insist this is a silo. Well, my instinct was to look at it as part of an old feudal castle. Look at this next photo from Belgium to see what I mean.

You see what I mean? This is the Castle of Bouillon, the oldest and most interesting remains of feudalism in Belgium with the first fortifications from the 8th century. So that round cylindrical building in the middle is what popped into my mind over here on Sportsman Dr.

So I approached closer. In my younger days, I would have climbed all around those ruins, but being a lazy old man, I just stood there and looked. Of course, the adults say this is the base of a silo serving a dairy farm. They say the notch is where the connector to the main barn used to be. But boy oh boy, I don't know, I wonder if she really were really a fort!

My mind has registered that this is a very old dairy barn complex. But my heart and wild imagination say this is an old fort. I can't work the castle idea because we didn't have feudal castles in the US in the 8th century.

Given my imagination, I am wondering if in fact I have found a great, old, lost and unknown fort in Marathon County when no one else was looking! I'll walk you through my archeological discoveries! Flip on your imagination switch and come along for the ride.

There's the outer wall of the fort, built from fieldstone. In the old days, my guess is the soldiers fully cleared the surrounding area so the enemy would be in full view when approaching her walls.

This gives you a perspective of the size of the fort, with that outer wall in the foreground, the turret in the distance. Forts in the old days didn't have to be large.

I knew I'd find a hidden entry and exit, where the soldiers would sneak out to conduct reconnaissance against the enemy, capture a few, and bring them back in through that entry you see to the left.

There's a closer look. I'll tell you what. If you were the enemy on the attack in Marathon, and my lads inside this fort snuck out and captured you, you were cooked goose! In the door you went. You can see a small room in there. I don't even want to think about what that was for.

This is the entry-exit from inside the fort.

Well, I'll tell you what. I know some old farmer in the area might try to sell a tall tale about how those pipes were for the dairy cattle, stanchions of some sort to feed and milk them. Not me. Those pipes are very close to the hidden exit-entry. I'm wondering if these were where our guys put the enemy in irons.

Okay, I'll admit these do look like old dairy cow stanchions. Of course, the men needed milk. Or, they might have put there horses here to ride off into assault the enemy as it charged the fort.

Now let me say this. Our Wisconsin ancestors were no fools. They understood the river and creek complexes in the state better than anyone. Look what our fellahs did when selecting the placement for their fort.

Just to the east is Aniwa Creek. They could move supplies that way and slide under the dead of night by boat to conduct their reconnaissance and do a little hit and run ambushing against the enemy.

Then just to the west is the Plover River, fully protected by heavy forest, where once again they could all the same things except on a larger scale. And just a bit more to the west is the Mighty Eau Claire. This fort was strategically placed.

Let me show you a couple shots of the Mighty Eau Claire, just to the north of the fort, in upper northeast Marathon, at the famous Hansen River Bridge, I'm sure the site of many a battle.

Yep, you could move some stuff down this mighty river.

Well good. I got to satisfy my fantasies and pretend I was six again, and still show you some old ruins of a dairy farm. That was fun! My bet is the Marathon Hysterical Society, I mean Historical Society, knows nothing of the fort story!

You are among the first to know! Ha!