“For over 160 years, boat excursions have taken visitors along the Wisconsin River, through the shady canyons, for an up-close view of the craggy cliffs that are the signature of the area. Over time, this spectacular attraction has left a colorful history in its wake; evolving from rowboats to steam paddlers to today’s double-decker steel vessels that carry thousands of visitors each season. 1908 brought dramatic changes to the area. A new dam, built along with a new hydroelectric power plant, needed to fuel industry and farming in the region. This split the river into two sections, the Upper Dells and the Lower Dells. The dam caused the water level to rise 17 feet on the new Upper Dells, making Witches Gulch more accessible than it has been. As the number of…show more content… Further on down in our journey, Sophia was relaying the information about the Native American culture in this region and how they were affected. For hundreds of years, Native Americans made this area their home, and it is their culture, history and intriguing legends that helped shape this region. The Ho-Chunk tribe, known for many years as the Winnebago, played a large role in the history of the Dells area and was even partly responsible for its name. The river itself, they called “Meskousing” or “Misconsing,” which historians believe means “River of Red Stone” or “River of the Great Rock.” Over time, explorers, writers, and mapmakers have given the name various spellings. The most common were Ouisconsin, which later took on the American spelling of Wisconsin. French explorers and fur traders called the area the “Dalles”
