In 1834 John Baptiste Du Bay established a trading post on the Wisconsin River one mile west of here, for the American Fur Company. His wife was Princess Madeline, daughter of Oshkosh, Chief of the Menominee Indians. According to tradition, Du Bay's father, John Lewis Du Bay, a French-Canadian voyageur, spent the winter of 1790 on the same site, which was known to the Chippewas as Nay-osh-ing meaning "the Point." Because of the underwater ledge, this was the first place north of Petenwell Rock where the river could be forded on foot and therefore became a strategic Indian crossing to the Black River hunting grounds to the west. In the 1860's stagecoaches operating between Stevens Point and Wausau took on passengers here. Lake Du Bay, created in 1942, covers the original site of the trading post. A monument marks Du Bay's grave in Knowlton cemetery 2.5 miles north of here.

These open grasslands in the Buena Vista Marsh, Portage County, were one of the last remaining strongholds of the Greater Prairie Chicken in Wisconsin. Once abundant in the state, this impressive bird nearly disappeared when its grassland habitat was converted to croplands, pastures and forests. Many committed individuals and organizations worked to preserve the "chicken," purchasing nearly 15,000 acres of grasslands since 1954. Thanks to these conservation efforts, chickens can be observed gatheirng here on their territorial "booming grounds" each April. Hoping to attract a mate, the male birds frantically stomp their feet and spread their tails while inflating bright orange neck sacs and calling out with a low, mournful, booming sound that can be heard for great distances. After breeding, the birds disperse during the summer and early fall, gathering again in large flocks for the winter. An intensive grassland management and research program works to ensure the future of this important symbol of the prairie.