LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — When people think about early La Crosse history, Black residents are often left out of the picture. But research by longtime University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Professor Dr. Bruce Mouser tells a different story.

In his book “Black La Crosse,” Dr. Mouser found that Black Americans were part of the city from the beginning, building businesses, owning land and shaping the community during its earliest years.

“During that time period La Crosse, the black population, was on average 1 to 2%. Some of the first settlers in La Crosse were black. In the 1850s, like 1852, when there were very few residents here at the time,” said Jenny Derocher, a librarian involved in the research. “And so it’s evident that there were opportunities here for black business owners, barbers, land speculators. There are a few pretty prominent black residents who did those things.”

That early presence also included political and academic excellence at a time when Black voices were often ignored nationally.

One prominent figure was George Coleman Poage, a La Crosse native who went on to become one of the first African Americans to win an Olympic medal. Even as a high school student, Pogue was addressing racial issues head-on.

“George Poage at his graduation talked about the race issue. He was the salutatorian of his class at 1899. And even he acknowledged that there was a race issue. And he made that, his graduation speech dealt with that,” said Denise Christy-Moss, producer of the Enduring Families Project.

Another significant figure was George Edwin Taylor, the first African American to run for president of the United States.

“Doctor Mouser also wrote a book about George Edwin Taylor. And Taylor really talks about why he ran for president, which is that he felt that the national Democratic and Republican parties weren’t catering to black voters, and they were ignoring this voter base,” Derocher explained. “And so, he wasn’t running for president because he thought he would win, but to make a statement.”

The documentation of this history serves a purpose beyond academic interest. Derocher and Christy-Moss say telling these stories matters not just to document the past, but to acknowledge that Black residents were here, contributed to the community and belong here.

“It brings a certain reality to the fact that these folks were here, and it matters, and we should know about it. Not just little bits and pieces, but the facts,” Christy-Moss said.

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