Histories: Trempealeau Co. Historical Accounts:
"History of Trempealeau County Wisconsin, 1917":
Chapter 7:
Gavin, Missionary
-As transcribed from page 66
The
story of the settlement of Trempealeau County dates from 1836, when an
attempt was made to establish a mission station at this point. A
Protestant missionary society of Basle, Switzerland, desirous of
sending the gospel to the North American Indians, commissioned two
young Swiss for the work. They decided upon the field among the Dakota
as the most promising, and proceeded to Prairie du Chien, where they
spent a short time studying the language and learning, the location of
the tribes. Rev. Daniel Gavin concluded to settle near Wabasha's band,
while his comrade, Samuel Denton, went on to Red Wing.