Tradition says that the hill was first discovered in 1673 by Father Marquette on his return from the discovery of the upper Mississippi River with Joliet.
The United States government owned the land until 1855, and the hill was known as "Government Hill" for surveying work was done there. Forty acres were purchased by Fr. Paulhuber, from Salzburg, Austria.
The first resident on the hill was a hermit named Francois Soubrio. Around 1862, an area farmer found him living on the hill. Soubrio had heard about the hill when he was working as an assistant to a retired professor in Quebec, Canada. He had found an old French diary and map dated 1676 showing a cone-shaped mountain in Wisconsin. The diary described how the author placed a stone altar, raised a cross, and dedicated the hill to Jesus's mother Mary. The diary account corresponds with Jesuit missionary work in the area between 1673 and 1679.
[Source: Wikipedia]
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