Episcopal Diocese of Fond Du Lac - History

History

The roots of the Diocese of Fond du Lac begin in 1822 when the Oneida Indians, removing from New York state, settled ten miles from Green Bay around Duck Creek. The first non-Roman Catholic church building erected in the Northwest Territory and what would become Wisconsin was built by the Oneidas. The history of the Episcopal Church in this area for the next fifty years was filled with many missionary endeavors establishing parishes and missions.

When the First Annual Council of the Diocese of Wisconsin met in Milwaukee in 1847, there were only three parishes in the northeastern part of the Wisconsin territory: Hobart Church, Duck Creek (now Church of the Holy Apostles, Oneida), Christ Church, Green Bay, and Grace Church, Sheboygan. With population growth spurred by the abundance of excellent waterways and shipping facilities in the northeastern part of the state, the Diocese of Wisconsin realized a need to create a new Diocese.

After a process begun in 1866 and completed by action of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church held in the city of New York, October 7, 1874, the Diocese of Fond du Lac was erected from the Fond du Lac Deanery of the Diocese of Wisconsin. In 1870, Fond du Lac was the second largest city in Wisconsin. The remaining counties continued as the Diocese of Wisconsin until 1888, when it was renamed the Diocese of Milwaukee.

In 1875, after three elections, the Rev. John Henry Hobart Brown accepted election as first Bishop and was consecrated December 15, 1875 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Cohoes, New York. Bishop Brown declared the city of Fond du Lac and St. Paul's Church as the episcopal See. The other viable location was Christ Church, Green Bay, but one likely reason Fond du Lac was chosen is it was a 'free-church' and Christ Church, Green Bay still had pew rents.

After a tremendous growth and laying the foundation of the newly erected Diocese, its second Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Charles Chapman Grafton, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement and its third, the Rt. Rev. Reginald Heber Weller, continued to build on the successes of those who came before them.

Growth, time, and distance led to the erection of a third Wisconsin Diocese. The Diocese of Fond du Lac established its current boundaries when the Diocese of Eau Claire was created in out of counties of both the Diocese of Milwaukee and Diocese of Fond du Lac in 1928, immediately prior to the onset of the Great Depression.

Since its founding in 1875, the Diocese of Fond du Lac has seen congregations come and go, often paralleling the coming and going of the population as towns, villages and cities sprung up and sometimes disappeared with economic opportunities of the area. Some congregations have established themselves deeply in communities and others have closed after many decades of sharing the Gospel. The past two decades have experienced the same decline in members felt by many main-line denominations. Through it all, there have been people of faith in the Anglican and Episcopal tradition who have worshipped God through the liturgies of the Church tracing their roots to the first Apostles and primarily Anglo-Catholic in nature.