Nathan Myrick

Nathan Myrick (July 7, 1822 – June 4, 1903) was a fur trader who founded La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1841. Myrick was in the fur trade in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin before traveling north to establish a fur trading post in what is now La Crosse. In 1849, he moved to St. Paul, Minnesota to establish more fur trading posts. He was a brother of Andrew Myrick, who was killed on the first day at the Attack at the Lower Sioux Agency.

Early life Nathan Myrick was born in Westport, New York on July 7, 1822. He was the son of Barnabas Myrick, a merchant in Westport, and Lovina A. Bigelow. Nathan was the second eldest of seven children, one of his younger brothers was Andrew Myrick. Before moving to Wisconsin Myrick had been employed in his fathers trading business in Westport. Myrick tried to work for fur trader Hercules L. Dousman, however, he was refused because he did not speak any of the Indigenous languages of Wisconsin such as Dakota, Fox, Sauk, or Ho-Chunk. Myrick eventually found a trading partner, leased an Army keelboat, and sailed down the Mississippi River to place known then as Prairie la Crosse (now La Crosse, Wisconsin). La Cross grew rapidly from 1841-1851. A post office was eventually established in 1843 with Myrick serving as the office's first postmaster. Myrick added to his operations a sawmill on the Black River. He often traveled to Saint Paul, Minnesota and Prairie du Chien, buying land and networking. Hatch, also of Westport, was a fellow fur trader who worked as an apprentice under both Myrick and Miller for their trading post. Hatch later traded in Fountain City, Wisconsin in 1845 before moving to Minnesota Territory. Hatch would go on to become a noted Indian agent for the Blackfoot Confederacy, a fur trader, and military officer. Andrew was later killed during the Attack at the Lower Sioux Agency during the opening stages of the Dakota War of 1862. Myrick was part of a civilian burial party which was the first to visit the Lower Sioux Agency immediately after the attacks. Andrew's body was located by Myrick near Birch Cooley Township and was brought back to Saint Paul for burial.

Though Nathan was not formerly present at the time of the Dakota Uprising, he very well could have been. According to Minnesota historian Curtis E. Dahlin, Myrick had just left for Fort Ridgely before the attack on his brother Andrew. In the duration of the war, all of Nathan Myrick’s Minnesota stores were destroyed.

Myrick was married in 1843 to Rebecca Elizabeth Ismon (1824 - 1901), together they had seven children, only two of which survived their infancy. Myrick died on June 3, 1903 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Saint Paul alongside his wife.

Legacy Myrick is remembered in La Crosse with a park named in his honor, Myrick Park, and a plaque at the site of his first log cabin near what is now the corner of Front and Second streets in La Crosse. The plaque was donated in 1916 by the La Crosse chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.