Update: I went back and looked at St. Francis of Assisi in August of 2022.

Portage des Sioux has survived several severe inundations over its history, the last occurring back in the great flood of 1993. But as can be seen, there are some fantastic buildings in this town, such as the Catholic church above and its school building below.

The effects of the flood are still be worked out, as can be seen in this house.

Update: The brown house above, the subject of legal battles, was demolished in 2010.

Here is the barn in the back, which needs a lot of work if it is to be functional again. However, it certainly has a certain patina to it that I enjoy.

Wow, what a stunning Second Empire micro-mansion across the street. It has been carefully restored and shows the architectural heritage of the town.

The coolest thing, in my opinion, is that there are still the vestiges of French colonial development in the town, most obviously expressed in the road on the edge of town called “Common Field Street,” denoting where the long, thin strips of French colonial agricultural land usage began.

This is a photograph of an historic field, still a long strip of land perhaps two hundred years after originally surveyed by French explorers. The field right next to the road into town (Route J) is the original French land platte–long and narrow.