Heritage

The history of the Green Bay area is as rich, colorful and diverse as it is extensive. It’s truly an epic tale of Native American culture, European exploration and settlement, and finally the foundations of today.

EUROPEAN INFLUENCE

European Heritage
In 1634, a full 142 years before the United States declared its independence from England, a human face other than Native American entered the waters of Green Bay for the very first time, ushering in what would become a vast European migration.

Jean Nicolet, adventurer and emissary of the government of New France (Canada), pulled his canoe onto the shore of today’s Red Banks area, 12 miles northeast of present day downtown. Believing he had discovered a trade route to China (and dressed in a silk robe befitting the occasion), he climbed ashore. When he discovered his error, he made the best of it, claiming his victory for the King of France. For the next century, La Baie Verte (“The Green Bay,” named for the water’s green hue) was a resource-rich possession of the French government.

Though Nicolet’s claim of a Chinese trade route turned out to be somewhat overstated, this part of what was known as “Upper Canada” did indeed become a vital link in the shipment of goods. Traders establishing posts along the Fox River as early as 1653 used the waterways to ship pelts and other sought-after products to the North, out through La Baie to Mackinac, and then through the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and Quebec for eventual export to Europe.

By the early 1670s, Catholic missionary Father Claude Allouez had established St. Francis Xavier mission along the rapids of the Fox. The “Rapides des Peres,” literally “Rapids of the Fathers,” became the city of De Pere, minutes south of Green Bay. For the next century, the French and Native American tribes were the sole inhabitants of this vast wilderness, until the British and then the American military established garrisoned forts.

The American Fort Howard was built on the site of an earlier French fort, and would later become the city of Fort Howard. At about the same time, Astor and Navarino sprang up directly across the Fox River from Fort Howard. These small cities would eventually merge to form the city of Green Bay.

By the early 19th century, land clearing and farming began to replace the earlier frontier way of life. Forests were giving way to large logging concerns, one of the earliest organized industries. Farms were established and the newly cleared lands were tilled. Railroads followed, including the powerful Chicago & Northwestern, bringing growing populations of recent immigrants to develop communities and set up businesses. An offshoot of logging, the fledgling paper industry took root by the end of the century. Today, the Green Bay area is part of the Paper Valley, the most intensive paper-producing location in the world. In the 20th Century, commerce, healthcare and tourism emerged as the community’s newest leading industries.

View Gateway to Green Bay book (PDF, 1.3MB)

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