Overview of Bone Lake
Bone Lake, located in Georgetown and Bone Lake Townships, Polk County, Wisconsin, is a 1,781-acre lake with 12.5 miles of shoreline and more than 500 private lots.
The mean depth is 20 feet, with a maximum depth of 43 feet.
Historical Bone Lake
Onondogacona, the beautiful Indian name for Bone Lake, means LAKE OF THE SMALL PINES.
Carbon dating of artifacts shows the first known settlers were Indians who lived on Indian Point circa 900 A.D.
These Indians were the mound builders. Bone, pottery, and beads made from shells have been found in the remains of their campsites.
The mounds built by these people are very ancient — they outdate the traditions of the Indians who were here when the country was discovered.
The early Indians were physically large and quite advanced. They possessed arts akin to the Aztecs. Whether they were driven away, or what became of them, will possibly never be known.
French Traders & Fort Onondogacona
The ruins of what was believed to have once been a trading post and fort — and perhaps a missionary center established by French traders — is located at the south end of Bone Lake.
The post remains were believed to have been part of a chain extending from Sault Ste. Marie to DeSoto, a town 50 miles south of La Crosse.
French posts had been established in Northern Wisconsin as early as 1700, owing allegiance to Louis XIV. Jesuits followed the fur traders to do missionary work among the Indians. The trappers were known as “Courers-de-boie” or Runners of the Woods.
Historical research revealed the name of the post near Bone Lake was Fort Onondogacona.
What the Remains Show
The main post was a building 24 × 36 feet. A break on one side indicated a door.
Nearby were the remains of six cabins.
Two parallel rows of stones indicated the altar where the Courers-de-boie worshipped
Trade & Ojibwe Life
- Ginseng
- Maple syrup
- Fur
They traded these items for goods produced by the white man.
Eating, singing, and dancing occupied much of their time for days or weeks. The sound of dances carried into the evening air.
A large settlement of Ojibwa lived in teepees or hogans on Indian Point until the 1700s.
Logging Era
The land around Bone Lake once held rich virgin white pine.
The Ward Logging Company cut timber in the winter of 1844–1845.
They tried floating logs down Fox Creek to the Apple River and onward to the St. Croix, but winds caused many to waterlog.
Later, in the 1890s, attempts were made to retrieve these logs for sawmills.