Hercules L. Dousman

Hercules Louis Dousman (August 4, 1800 – September 12, 1868) was a fur trader and real-estate speculator who played a large role in the economic development of frontier Wisconsin.

After Dousman returned to Mackinac Island, he was employed by the American Fur Company, which his father had served as an agent following the War of 1812.

In Prairie du Chien, Dousman proved his abilities as a trader,[1] quickly rising in the company's ranks.

By 1834 he had acquired an interest in the company's Western Outfit, and in 1840 he became an equal partner in the business together with Joseph Rolette and Henry Hastings Sibley.

To continue in the trade, Dousman entered into a joint venture with Rolette, Sibley, and Pierre Chouteau (of St. Louis, Missouri) to organize a new company to replace it on upper Mississippi.

He began to invest in lumber mills in northern Wisconsin and real estate in some of the state's growing population centers.

The European demand had declined with changes of fashion and the Native Americans, who provided the pelts and were important customers for manufactured goods, were being pushed west by new settlers.

In addition to having numerous holdings in real estate, grain, and lumber, Dousman became involved in transportation companies.