One of our suites is named in honor of Joseph Thibault, a French Canadian trader, Indian interpreter and first settler in the Beloit area.The following is an excerpt from the Wisconsin Magazine of History regarding his mysterious disappearance.

Beloit had for long cherished the memory of it first known white settle, Joseph Thibault, who began to trade among the Winnebago in the Turtle Creek region about 1824.  Old Joe was a French Canadian with two Indian wives.  In 1836 he was living on the site of present-day Beloit, and in that same year sold his claim of “three looks” of land to Caleb Blodgett from Vermont for $200.  With two wives and several children, Thibault moved to the south shore of Lake Koshkonong, where he disappeared during the winter of 1838-39.

The people living near Koshkonong were convinced that Thibault had been murdered by his younger wife and his son, and a history of Rock County published in 1856 gave the facts of the crime very briefly.

For the rest of the article, please select the following link:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4631709?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A2e13a8297d497319136eaff350f951fa&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents