A ledger book from an early trading post in the Fox River Valley.

Grignon Trade Ledger

Charles A. Grignon, the son of pioneer Augustin Grignon, started a mercantile business in Green Bay in 1836, relocating to Kaukauna, then known variously as Grand Kakalin, Grand Cakalin, or Grand Kaukalan, in 1837. This ledger from the early years of the business includes a wealth of information on early life in the Fox River Valley, showing the goods sold at the trading post, the prices of those items, and how various commodities were measured; the payment for various types of labor; the names of those doing business with the Grignon family, how often they shopped at the post and what they purchased; and the value of meals and lodging at the post. The original ledger was acquired by the History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, Wisconsin, as a gift from Dr. and Mrs. Frederick S. Layton of Dedham, Massachusetts, in October, 2003 and was loaned to the Wisconsin Historical Society and UW-Madison Digital Collections (UWDC) for digital scanning and cataloging.

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