Navarre Cabin

Navarre, along with his family, arrived and settled at the mouth of the Maumee in 1807 shortly after Statehood. He was born in 1790 and was of French-Canadian decent. A fur trapper by trade, Navarre covered an area from Presque Isle through the Maumee Valley to Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He was exceedingly skilled as a woodsman, knowing the wilderness that was then Ohio intimately.

Although he spoke French in the Canadian manner, he didn’t read or write and had little command of the English language. Navarre did speak several Native American Indian languages flawlessly. When dressed as an Indian, he was able to pass as one without detection by the native tribes. Those skills, and considerable courage as a volunteer loyal to the American forces, led to his role as an Indian Scout and guide. The East Toledo Historical Society, on an Ohio Historical Marker erected in 2007, described his service to the American forces thusly:
“During the War of 1812, Peter Navarre acted as a scout for the American army and provided intelligence about enemy strength and locations. Navarre was responsible for passing communications between Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry at Port Clinton and General William Henry Harrison at Fort Seneca during August and September 1813. On September 9, Navarre was sent to Perry with orders to begin the attack against the British. The Battle of Lake Erie was fought the next day. His skill and resourcefulness to pass through enemy territory aided the United States in retaining this area during the war.”

At the conclusion of the war Navarre returned to the mouth of the Maumee, resumed his fur trapping, farmed and raised a large family. He outlived his three wives. Peter Navarre died on March 20, 1874 at the age of 86. It is believed that his son, Peter Navarre Jr., built the cabin in the 1860’s for his father’s later days.
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