1600s
- Doty Island was landed upon by French woodsman and explorer Jean Nicolet de Belleborne in 1634.
- Nicolet is credited as being the first European to explore what is now Wisconsin.
- Nicolet made peace with the local Winnebago and Huron Indians and set up a trading system for French explorers.
- Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet established the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway in 1673 .