Editing Little Chute, Wisconsin (section)

===First European settlement===

The first Europeans to the area were the French. [[Jean Nicolet]] reached the Fox River at [[Green Bay (Lake Michigan)|Green Bay]] in 1634 and set up a trading post. Explorers [[Father Jacques Marquette]] and [[Louis Joliet]] passed through the area in 1673, following the canoe route to the Mississippi. As early as 1760, the families of Augustin and Charles Grignon, French Canadian [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis]], established a fur trade post along the rapids. While French influence waned, it can still be seen in local place names, particularly waterways. Locally the three major rapids on the Fox were named “La Grand Kauklin” (near Grignon's trading post at present day [[Kaukauna, Wisconsin|Kaukauna]]), “La Petite Chute” (present day Little Chute) and “La Grand Chute” (still the name of the [[Grand Chute, Wisconsin|adjoining township]]).

The French maintained a presence in the area until the end of the [[French and Indian War]] in 1763. The area switched to British control until the end of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] in 1781. The Americans nominally controlled the area although the British continued to maintain a presence until the end of the [[War of 1812]] in 1814. In 1787, the area became part of the American [[Northwest Territory]]. In succession the area became part of [[Indiana Territory|Indiana]], [[Illinois Territory|Illinois]], [[Michigan Territory|Michigan]], and finally, in 1836, [[Wisconsin Territory|Wisconsin Territories]]. Statehood was reached in 1848.