Weather & Wisconsin FortsWeather & Wisconsin Forts

EJH

Setting the StageSetting the StageThe Need for Wisconsin Forts• A show of American Influence

– European contact - since 1634– Northwest Ordinance of 1787– British influence and the War of 1812

• Protection of American Influence– Lead mining– Trade– Black Hawk War

Forts in Old Northwest Forts in Old Northwest ca. 1840ca. 1840

Locations in Wisconsin TerritoryLocations in Wisconsin Territory

• Fort Howard 1821-41, 1849-52

– Camp Smith 1821-22

• Fort Crawford 1820-25, 1828-45, 1848-49

• Fort Winnebago 1829-45

• Fort Snelling 1819-55

Setting the StageSetting the StageThe Need for Weather Data

• James Tilton, MD (1745-1822)– Initial Order issued 2 May 1814

• Joseph Lovell, MD (1788-1836)– Issued detailed instructions and

regulations in 1818.– The “real father of weather in US”.

The Weather DataThe Weather Data• Daily weather log and standard

journal

• Quarterly summaries

• Complied National Data

Daily Diary Ft. Howard June 1841Daily Diary Ft. Howard June 1841

Ft. CrawfordFt. CrawfordState Historical Society of Wisconsin Visual Archives: Album 12.31

Mississippi River near Ft. Crawford 1837Mississippi River near Ft. Crawford 1837State Historical Society of Wisconsin Visual Archives: Album 12.27

Ft. HowardFt. HowardState Historical Society of Wisconsin: Negative No. WHi (x3) 23870

Fort Howard Site

Camp Smith Site

Camp Smith Site Heritage Hill State Park

Ft. Winnebago in 1831Ft. Winnebago in 1831Kinzie, Mrs. John H. Wau-Bun, the "Early Day" in the Northwest. Chicago: D. B. Cooke & Co., Publishers, 1857.

Ft. WinnebagoFt. Winnebago

Ft. WinnebagoFt. Winnebago

Military RoadMilitary Road

Ft. WinnebagoFt. Winnebago

Three FortsThree FortsState Historical Society of Wisconsin Visual Archives: Album 12.31

Ft. SnellingFt. SnellingMcCracken, Harold. George Catlin and the old frontier. New York: Bonanza

Books, [1959].

ProblemsProblems

• Instrument exposure

• Instrument quality

• Gaps in record

• Issue of observation time

The Observation TimesThe Observation Times

• Initial (1820s)– 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time

• Then (1843)– 9 AM, 3 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time

• And Then (1855)– 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM Local Sun Time

The InstrumentsThe Instruments

• Thermometers 1820s -

• Wind instruments (wind vanes) 1820s -

• Rain gauges 1836 -

• Barometers 1840s –

• Hygrometers 1840s –

EpilogueEpilogue

Observations at forts followed by:

• Smithsonian Institution 1850s to 1870s

• U.S. Army Lake Survey 1858-1874

• U.S. Signal Service 1870-1891

• U.S. Weather Bureau 1891-1970

• National Weather Service 1970-present

MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES: Fort Howard 1822-40, 1849-52 Average (Purple)

Green Bay/Austin Straubel: 1961-1990 Average (Black) [Source: NCDC]

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