Marquette Jolliet Expedition Historical Marker #189 

Year Erected: 1973; relocated in 2017.

Wisconsin Historical Marker.

This marker identified a 1673 expedition, headed by Jesuit priest Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, to explore the upper Mississippi River. Their discoveries were recorded here after returning. Joliet then left for Quebec, Canada, and Marquette remained at a Mission, which was on the Fox River near this marker.

The marker was originally erected at the northeast corner of N. Broadway Street and George Street within a greenspace called the Creviere Commons, about two blocks to the east of this location. In 2016, when “The 102 on Broadway” building was built, the marker was temporarily placed in storage. In 2017, the De Pere Historic Preservation Commission worked with the Wisconsin Historical Society to relocate the historical marker to the present location along the Fox River riverfront.

The marker’s original location (two blocks away) was the former site of Radant Variety Store. It was founded by Norman Radant in 1947, after which it was run by his son, William Radant. The store and the apartments above it burned down in October 1990. The site was redeveloped into a small park and named in 2003 as Creviere Commons. The park was named after former De Pere Journal Democrat newspaper publishers and editors Paul and Marie Creviere.