Historical Essay
Mission of St Francis Xavier
On Oconto River at Brazeau Ave., Oconto, Oconto County
On December 2, 1669, the Eve of St. Francis, Father Claude Allouez arrived at Oconto, then a village of about 600 Indians. Here Allouez founded the Mission of St. Francois Xavier, the first mission in northeastern Wisconsin. Six French fur traders happened to be here at that time. The primitive chapel made of bark and cedar boughs remained until 1671 when the mission moved to Red Bank on the east shore of Green Bay.
Learn More
Dictionary of Wisconsin History
Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.
[Source: McBride, Sarah Davis. History Just Ahead (Madison:WHS, 1999).]