Green Bay Before the Revolution

Green Bay News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jun 26, 2026 · 2m

Before the American Revolution even kicked off, Green Bay was its own wild frontier—home to French-Canadian traders, Native American tribes, and a booming fur trade, all while the colonies were busy fighting King George. This was the oldest European settlement in Wisconsin, still mostly wilderness in 1776, with barely a hundred non-Native souls calling it home. French traders had been here since 1634, marrying into tribes, learning their languages, and building a thriving trade network that outlasted political shifts between France and Britain. Even after the War of 1812, the fur trade kept…