a house for her.) Together the couple moved into the large two-story brick house that Dousman had constructed a year earlier. Hercules and Jane Dousman had one son, Hercules Louis Dousman II, who was born on April 3, 1848, the year that Wisconsin became a state. In the 1870s the Dousman house at this site was replaced with what is known as Villa Louis. This was also called the "House on the Mound", because of its location on what is believed to be a prehistoric Indian earthwork mound. Community leader As Wisconsin and the region attracted more European Americans, the fur trade declined. The European demand had declined with changes of fashion and the Native Americans, who provided the pelts and were important customers for manufactured goods, were being pushed west by new settlers. Dousman withdrew from the fur trade in the late 1840s and focused on his investments. In addition to having numerous holdings in real estate, grain, and lumber, Dousman became involved in transportation companies. He invested in packet companies and steamboats that ran on the Mississippi River. In 1852, Dousman became a principal investor in the Madison & Prairie du Chien Railroad, a company formed to ensure that the larger Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad would meet its goal of connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River. The two companies combined a few years later, and eventually developed as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Dousman was very influential in bringing the railroad to Prairie du Chien by 1857, and the Milwaukee & Mississippi was the first railroad to lay track all the way across Wisconsin. Prairie du Chien's new rail connection caused a small boom in the city's population and business. Since Dousman owned much of the land in the city, he made a large profit from this . His net worth was estimated at one million dollars, when fewer than a thousand Americans could claim to possess such a figure. Death and legacy Dousman died of heart failure on September 12, 1868. By this time he was regarded as one of Wisconsin's wealthiest and most influential men. His wife Jane and son Louis inherited his estate. Dousman is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Prairie du Chien. Although he died before Villa Louis was constructed, the mansion is preserved as a recognized historic site in part because of Dousman's significance in the region. Dousman is