Our Town's Founder
Alexander MacGregor
Alexander MacGregor caught the bug to head West at age 28. A native of Wilton Junction, New York, Alexander struck out on his own and landed in the village of Chicago in 1832.
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Barely a blip on a map, 1830 records stated fewer than 100 people lived in Chicago. Alexander saw an opportunity to thrive from the budding town’s growth. He purchased a large tract of government land that proved to be fruitful. With the land, Alexander:
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Divided it and sold lots
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Created a quarry and sold the stone for the first buildings erected in Chicago
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Sold timber to construct buildings and the city’s wharves ​
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Two years later, Alexander set out for his next adventure. It took him 30 miles west to what is now Aurora, Illinois. He acquired 240,000 acres and sold tracts of 160 acres each priced between $150 to $200.
The entrepreneur sold his Chicago investments and headed out for his next adventure. In 1835, Alexander arrived in the old French town of Prairie du Chien located in what would become Wisconsin. Alexander became active in his new village. He connected with influential men and believed he had much to share toward the development of the burgeoning town on the Mississippi River.
The ferry
Shortly after his arrival, the entrepreneur recognized another opportunity: the need for a ferry to traverse the Mississippi between Prairie du Chien and the future state of Iowa.
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Alexander collaborated with Thomas Burnett to establish their ferry business in 1837. The first ferry was a flatbed boat propelled by long poles and lots of muscle from passengers and the ferry operator.
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The second ferry, the Rob Roy, made passengers’ travel much easier. Four mules powered the Rob Roy by walking on a circular wheel in the middle of the ferryboat.
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When the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad laid tracks in Prairie du Chien in 1857, Alexander realized another opportunity. His began ferrying railroad cars across the Mississippi.
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In 1900, George Freeman began operating the steam-powered Rob Roy I with the birth of Rob Roy II a short while later. The ferry company operated until 1932. The first cable suspension bridge, built in the 1930s, connected neighboring Marquette, Iowa, and Prairie du Chien; thus, eliminating the need for the ferry. ​​
The town
In 1837 through Alexander's association with Prairie du Chien businessmen Lockwood and Burnett, Alexander was able to purchase part of Basil Giard’s Spanish Claim No. 1, initially naming it “The Ferry Property.” He later created a village and called it “MacGregor’s Landing.” He platted a six-block area on the Mississippi River’s waterfront.
In 1847, Alexander and his wife of four years, Ann, moved from Prairie du Chien and into a log cabin he’d built in MacGregor’s Landing.
When the town incorporated 10 years later, its named changed from MacGregor to McGregor with Alexander's permission. At its peak McGregor's population soared to 5,500 residents.
Andrew T. Jones, a town merchant and Kentucky native, served as McGregor’s first mayor.
His death
Alexander eventually built a brick home at the end of Main Street that he lived in until his death at age 54 years old in 1858. Ann stayed in their home until dying in 1890.
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Alexander and Ann had four sons, only two lived to adulthood: Gregor and Gardner. Gregor was a bachelor, and Gardner only had one child: Eloise.*
When Alexander died, Ann buried him in McGregor Bluffs. Claiming Alexander’s grave was on his property, Alexander’s brother James sued Ann and won. Ann reburied her husband and infant son, George, next to their firstborn, Chester, in Evergreen Cemetery in Prairie du Chien.
Miss Eloise MacGregor died January 8, 1950 in Concord, New Hampshire. Their family line ended, but their name lives on in the town which bears their name.*
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*SOURCE: "Alexander MacGregor and His Town" by Lena D. Myers; pages 66 & 75