Daniel Whitney was one of the most successful land speculators in the Old Northwest. He settled in Green Bay in 1819 and in 1829 laid out Navarino, now a part of Green Bay. He likewise had real estate in Brown, Sheboygan, and numerous other Wisconsin counties. Aside from his real estate interests, Whitney was prominent in the early mercantile and transportation developments of Wisconsin. In 1819 he opened a trading post at Green Bay and in time was a strong competitor of the American Fur Company. He built a boat-line transportation system along the streams of interior Wisconsin and in 1834 was one of the incorporators of the Portage Canal Company. His later life was spent caring for his large landed estate.
