On this 40-acre site stood Camp Smith, a temporary location of Fort Howard, part of the pioneer settlement known as Shantytown, and Wisconsin's first courthouse. The military road linking Fort Howard with Fort Winnebago at Portage and Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien passed through the site. Many buildings here are original structures saved over the years, including Henry Baird's law office, several original Fort Howard buildings, the Cotton House, a French fur trader's cabin, and the Tank Cottage, Wisconsin's oldest standing house, dating from 1776. The spread of civilization in Wisconsin was begun by the people who first made their homes here on the banks of the Fox River.