The French explorers have been here since the 1600’s, back when their men were MEN and not the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of today. ;)
They were basically fur traders:
“French explorers first reached Wisconsin in the 17th century. Most came in hopes of discovering new paths to the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico for trade and transportation. These early explorers inspired many other traders and missionaries to come to Wisconsin in the late 17th and 18th centuries. They also began the fur trade that would dominate Wisconsin’s economy for two centuries.
Interpreters Etienne Brule (ca. 1592-1632) and Jean Nicolet (1598-1642) were both sent west early in the 17th century by Samuel de Champlain, the governor of New France, to see if a water route to the Pacific existed.
Brule may have been the first European to visit Wisconsin. In 1622 or 1623, he traveled around Lake Superior. Because the account of his trip was written from hearsay after his death by Gabriel Sagard-Theodat, Brule’s exact route is not known. Further details about Wisconsin appeared on Samuel de Champlain’s map of New France in 1632. This information probably came to Champlain from Brule.
Nicolet reached Wisconsin in 1634. He landed at Red Banks, near Green Bay. Brule and Nicolet never found the river leading to the Pacific they were searching for. But they did find that the Midwest was a very rich source of furs. The French realized they could turn a handsome profit if they brought furs to Montreal and shipped them to France. But they had to wait until mid-seventeenth century Iroquois attacks ended.”
Diana here: Brule and Nicolet never found the river leading to the Pacific they were searching for...because it was the mighty Mississippi River that they needed!
It was found years BEFORE on May 8, 1541, south of present-day Memphis, Tennessee, when Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River.
Obviously communications weren’t like they are today, and there wasn’t some sort of ‘website’ for Explorers to share information. ;)
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS388
Map of territorial claims in the mid 1700s
French influence can be seen in the current city names and the size of France's claimed territory shows how well traveled and influential they were. We wouldn't be the USA and Canada wouldn't Canada be without them. The American Revolutionary War, the Industrial Age and a couple of world wars changed a lot of things since this map.
Couriers de Bois Radisson & des Groseilliers. Frenchmen who started working with the English and founded the Hudson Bay company. (Painting by Fredrick Remington
Mushroom Soup Gratin! (Essentially French Onion Soup with mushrooms.)
https://sophnstuff.wordpress.com/recipes/mushroom-soup-a-la-gratinee/