Mission of St. Francois Xavier

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 north eastern 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 Banks on the East shore of Green Bay.