Built in 1831, Wakely’s Tavern and Trading Post was the first white settler’s house in present Wood County. River piers, a shingle mill, a warehouse, and a gunpowder pit helped make the site a rendezvous for Indians, voyageurs, lumbermen, and raftsmen, as well as a social center for area pioneers. In 1844, the steamboats “Maid of Iowa” and “Enterprise” operated on the river, carrying passengers and cargo between Prairie du Chien and Pointe Basse, the site of Wakely’s Tavern. Until 1916, a cable ferry operated from this point to the west bank of the river. In 1963, the remaining wing of the tavern was restored and is now known as “Old Ferry Farm.”