Fort Crawford - Fort Crawford Museum

Fort Crawford Museum

Except during the American Civil War, when the fort was used as both a recruitment center and hospital for Union soldiers, Fort Crawford was left unoccupied between 1856 and 1933. In 1933, the Daughters of the American Revolution began work on restoring a portion of the fort's hospital, while clearing away the remaining parts of the dilapidated fort to allow for development. The fort's hospital was then transformed into a museum of medical history called the Fort Crawford Museum of Medical Progress. This museum, which focused around the experiments of Dr. Beaumont, but also featured exhibits on other aspects of early medicine, was operated by the Wisconsin Medical Society until 1995. In that year, the museum was sold to the Prairie du Chien Historical Society and converted into a museum of local history called the Prairie du Chien Museum at Fort Crawford. While the fort's hospital, which is registered as a National Historic Landmark, still houses exhibits primarily on Dr. Beaumont and early medicinal practices, adjacent buildings are now filled with exhibits on other aspects of Prairie du Chien history.