Holy Cross Church and Bay Settlement: The Early History of Rural Wisconsin Development
The land that would become Bay Settlement was only sparingly settled before the great migrations of the mid-19th century. The few settlers that did inhabit this wilderness were French Canadians and American Indians, mostly with mixed marriages. This changed in the 1830s when surveys came through and started to mark the land of Northeast Wisconsin. The trend toward farming instead of hunting and fishing as a means of pioneer economy sounded the death knell for many French settlers, along with the increased need to expand economy into the frontier. The survey not only brought about a clearer definition of this pioneer wilderness, but also brought to the area one of its great individual founders. Father Van den Broek came to the area after the survey in 1834 from his mission at Little Chute. He decided to build a small log chapel on the hill that houses today’s Holy Cross Church as a resting stop along his circuit of visits to the area. The great symbolism of the church on the hill was a main reason for building the chapel here and would embody the importance of the church in this area as the central point of community.
The Fox Valley saw a tremendous amount of immigration in the mid to late 1840s from Germany and Belgium, areas embroiled in social and economic problems. The Germans were the first immigrant group to come to this area in great numbers. Most of the German travelers came over to America because the burdens of German taxes and bureaucrats became a nuisance to the common German. A very small group of these immigrants were related to religious persecution or the revolution of 1848, although these settlers would be the spokesmen for the entire German American culture some years later.
The Belgians that came over during the 1850s came over for several reasons. First, the land resources of the small European nation were being stretched to their limits by growing populations. Another reason for the immigration was that weavers and other machinists were replaced by better technology, a trend that would continue through the end of the century. Lastly, and not exclusively to the Belgians, was the advertisement of the Americans in relation to newly opened “Western” lands. These lands were being promoted as fruitful and advertisers used those who had already made the journey to America as promulgators of the virtues of the land. The settlers also were attracted to the type of terrain and climate that Wisconsin had, very similar to the seasons of Antwerp and Wurzburg. The difficulties and successes that lay ahead for these intrepid settlers was little known at the time but would promise only to strengthen the bonds of these groups.
One of the binding forces of the settlers to this area was religion, more specifically the Catholic Church. This factor was important because it stressed the importance of discipline, hard work, as well as faith in the land and faith in their fellow settlers. One man bound together the immigrant families by helping them not only to survive in the new land, but flourish in their new communities. Father Edward Daems came to the mission of Father Van Den Broek in September 1851 from an assignment in Detroit. In November of that same year, the ailing Van Den Broek died, leaving Daems at the mission with Brother Pete Witven. They left the mission briefly to move northward to the log chapel left by Van Den Broek some 17 years earlier. Daems returned to Little Chute briefly as well as returning to Holland before returning in 1855 to the Bay Settlement area. He negotiated for the land surrounding the chapel in an effort to establish not only a church but also a community to populate the church. After negotiating with Father Bonduel for the land rights, Daems and the settlers he brought in would finish the new church building.
The story of how Daems brought in settlers into the new community relates to the great influx of immigrants into the region. The most important immigrant group to the growth of this area was the Belgians, who left Belgium in the late 1840s to live a new life in the United States. Most of these travelers came to this new land and first saw the sight of New York as they passed it by on their way to the Midwest. Many Belgians settled in Milwaukee via the Erie Canal, a resting stop on their way to dispersing amongst the vast expanse of wilderness Wisconsin. A significant number of Belgians came as far north as Sheboygan and settled there while they were looking for land. The Belgians of Sheboygan found land in Kaukauna and had purchased it, but tragedy struck. The son of settler Phillip Hannon died and the Belgian families had the funeral in the Catholic Church in Green Bay. Father Daems was at the church, having a meeting with a pastor, and met a few of the Belgians. Daems convinced many of his countrymen that there were significant lands in the Bay Settlement wilderness that could be acquired by the Belgian immigrants. Daems appealed to both the women’s sentiment toward family and religion and the men’s need for land to cultivate. These families relinquished their land rights in Kaukauna and settled at Robinsonville, a few miles away from what would be known as New Franken in the years to come. Dames served as the pastor of the small Holy Cross Church and the Belgians walked miles every week to hear him preach to the parishioners in their native tongue.
The new church building that would stand for over sixty years was completed in 1857. By this time, the community surrounding the church was beginning to grow significantly. Accounts from the Green Bay Advocate in the years surrounding the creation of the new church indicate that many Belgians came to settle in the greater Green Bay area. By 1856, estimates indicate that 15,000 Belgians settled the Northeast Wisconsin area. The great influx of these settlers did not reflect the quality of the land or ease of cultivation. In 1854, a strain of Asiatic cholera swept through the area, causing a great many ill and dead. The disease also caused a strain on the returning Daems, who acted as a healer for the Belgian community. One story of Daems’ great works for the community centers around this epidemic. One evening Daems was assisting a woman struck with cholera and near her death. Her concern lay with her baby son, who would have no one to care for him if his mother died. The woman asked Daems to find care for the child; Daems promised that he would go to great lengths to find a suitable family for her son. He did indeed find a suitable family and the child became an upstanding member of the local community. The struggles with disease, which would find its way back into the community in the future, and with cultivating the hardwood forests that lay on their property only served to strengthen the community and the parish.
The early struggles did indeed strengthen the bond of the community and church, as they needed each other mutually. The first celebration of mass in the new Holy Cross Church was on October 19th, 1857. At this mass, the largest mass confirmation occurred in the area to that point with 225 candidates being confirmed by Bishop Henni. Even before this, the religious unity of the community could be seen. In 1856 alone, there were 300 baptisms in the parish. The surrounding area was growing as well, as some small grocers and taverns opened their doors in Bay Settlement. The settlers also started to form a cohesive local political body, with a group of 230 voters helping elect officers for the Green Bay town board. This act in itself asserted this community as an entity that would thrive in this area.
The church began to expand in 1860 when Father Daems and the church finished the rectory, the same rectory that stands next to Holy Cross to this day. Eight years later, the great expansion of the church happened with the addition of a new religious community and a school. The Third Order of the Sisters of Saint Francis was established in 1868 as an extension of Holy Cross Church. The intention of this order was to assist the church in terms of education of the poor and medical care. The first members of this order were Sisters Christine Rousseau, Sister Pauline LaPlant, Sister Pius Doyle, and Sister Mary Van Laanen. The same year, Father Daems felt that the new order could best serve in its capacity with a parochial school. 1868 saw the creation of Holy Cross School, with its opening on February 12th. The first class contained 27 students, taught by the Sisters of St. Francis in English and Catechism in English, French, German, and Dutch. Father Daems also began to preach his sermons in English, a reflection in the change of language and demographics of the population. Daems required of the students one year of school before First Communion, showing the importance of education in cooperation with religious belief. The school would become one of the lone elementary education establishments in the wilderness for years, holding one of the main values cherished by the community within its walls.
Father Daems’ importance was recognized by the Green Bay Diocese, being named the first Vicar General for the Diocese, a position of administration for the church. With the absence of Bishop Melcher at the Ecumenical Council in Rome, Daems temporarily became the Administrator for the Diocese. This role would be reprised in a few years with the passing of Bishop Melcher and would be dutifully completed by Daems.
The course of Bay Settlement’s development was stunted by major catastrophe, as were a great deal of the communities in Northeast Wisconsin in 1871. The fall season in Bay Settlement during 1871 was particularly dry and hot, creating dry timber areas and underbrush. The lack of rain also spelled trouble for water supplies in domestic use. Small fires broke out in the underbrush and spread slowly during the fall months of 1871, a trend that was occurring throughout the area. Disaster seemed imminent in Bay Settlement, especially with the pastor’s premonition in the evening of September 10th of that year. His dream sequence revealed a mass funeral in the church, with a number of caskets brought through the church on small wagons. The season continued in the same fashion it had started, getting worse as drought and fires continued. The climax of this disaster came on October 8th, 1871. The church was holding the induction for Confirmation, resided by Bishop Melcher of the Diocese. The fires worsened by what Sister Mary Pius called winds like a “hurricane.” The winds helped push the fire further along the underbrush, causing massive damage to houses in the community. Thirty homes, a general store, and a sawmill fell casualty to the firestorm along with several lives. The premonition of Father Daems indeed came true: the exact numbers of dead in his dream were present at the mass funeral at Holy Cross Church. The disaster proved an example on the strength of the community and church; relief committees were formed to assist those who lost their home, land, or other goods. The area would recover relatively quickly because of its strong emphasis on helping those in need within the community.
The area that was Bay Settlement had grown significantly since Father Van Den Broek’s log chapel was built in 1834. According to frequent articles in the Green Bay Advocate and other area periodicals, the conditions for farming became ideal and businesses were going up and flourishing in this area. One of the prominent citizens of the time in Bay Settlement, Gregoire Denis, held significant properties and interests in the town. Denis, a postmaster for 23 years, owned hundreds of acres of property, a sawmill and flourmill as well as a grocery in Bay Settlement. Denis’ success was indicative of the economic good times felt by the community.
The school also flourished in the late 19th century. In 1890 the school held 55 total students, taught by seven teachers of the Franciscan order. A good portion of these students had achieved First Communism and attendance for class on an average day was 39. The year 1893 saw improvements in the schoolhouse, mainly in the classroom conditions, costing 500 dollars. The school seemingly had little to improve upon, being given honorable mention in the Columbian Fair in Chicago in 1893. The school remained a vital part of the community, acting as one of the lone functionaries of education in the settlement.
Following Father Daems’ death in 1879, care for the church went into the hands of the Fathers of Mercy until the turn of the century. Several priests took over as pastor: Fathers Henry Bruns, Martin, Rocagel, McFadden, Joseph Darche, LeBras, McCarthy, Courvoisier, Tacken, and Coutereels. The last priest from this order, Coutereels, died in 1903 and left the parish in the hands of the Norbertines.
Holy Cross Church and the community that came to life around it acts as a sample of how many communities were built at the inception of Wisconsin the territory and the state. The Belgians and Germans particularly established themselves in the wilderness of Northeast Wisconsin by means of their work ethic, determination, and thirst for community. Holy Cross Church developed out of the need for community by the new immigrants, a means of placating the importance of family and religion to these newcomers. The community still relies on those very same values; Holy Cross Church and Bay Settlement, referred to now as the Town of Scott, thrive as a community of family in faith to God. Farms still inhabit the land; family businesses still stand as pillars to the tradition built by Father Daems and his “Belgian colony.”
