"Queen Marinette" 1784-1865

Queen Marinette

Both the city and county are named in honor of a remarkable woman who established a fur trading post on the banks of the Menominee River. Marie Antoinette Chevalier was born at Post Lake in what is now Langlade County in 1784, to the Canadian Bartland Chevalier, and the daughter of Menominee Chief Wauba-Shish. Bartland Chevalier moved to Green Bay in 1800 and went into partnership with John Jacobs, an English Canadian whom Marinette later married. They had three children. When the fur trading business slumped during the War of 1812 Jacobs started a school. In 1823 he moved to the present site of the City of Marinette and went into partnership with William Farnsworth at a trading post established by the American Fur Company. Within a few years John Jacobs went to Canada and never returned, and Marinette married Farnsworth. They had two sons and a daughter. By 1831 Farnsworth too had left, to settle in Sheboygan. Marinette remained and developed the trading post into a large trading center. She was called "Queen Marinette," and became well known for her business ability. She died in 1865. Her son, John B. Jacobs, platted the town.

For more information, see:

• Gard, Robert, and L.G. Soren. The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names. Minocqua, Wis.: 1988. (Out of print)
• Johnson, Beverly Hayward. Queen Marinette: Spirit of Survival on the Great Lakes Frontier. Amasa, MI: White Water Associates, Inc., 1995.
• Rentmeester, Jeanne, and Les Rentmeester. The Wisconsin Creoles. Melbourne, Fla.: Jeanne and Les Rentmeester, 1987.