Reserve in Sawyer County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission
Photographed By Keith L, September 17, 2011
1. St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission Marker
Inscription.
St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission. . Lac Courte Oreilles remains one of the earliest Ojibway (Chippewa) Indian settlements in Wisconsin. In 1796 John Baptiste Corbine, a French-Canadian fur trader, arrived at Little Lac Courte Oreilles and established a trading post here in 1800. Corbine's Christian devotion impressed many of the Ojibway, and he is attributed with introducing Catholicism to the people of Lac Courte Oreilles. In 1860 visiting priests from Bayfield, Wisconsin, began to offer Mass at Lac Courte Oreilles. As Catholicism grew among the Ojibway, so too did their need for a local church. In 1881 the U.S. Government granted Lac Courte Oreilles a 10-acre tract to erect church and school. Completed in 1885, the small log church and school were named for St. Francis Solanus, a Franciscan missionary. In 1921 lightening destroyed the original log church. The present church, built in 1924, is constructed of local pipestone. St. Francis Solanus parishioners quarried and hauled the sacred stone from the pipestone quarry 7 miles away.
Lac Courte Oreilles remains one of the earliest Ojibway (Chippewa) Indian settlements in Wisconsin. In 1796 John Baptiste Corbine, a French-Canadian fur trader, arrived at Little Lac Courte Oreilles and established a trading post here in 1800. Corbine's Christian devotion impressed many of the Ojibway, and he is attributed with introducing Catholicism to the people of Lac Courte Oreilles. In 1860 visiting priests from Bayfield, Wisconsin, began to offer Mass at Lac Courte Oreilles. As Catholicism grew among the Ojibway, so too did their need for a local church. In 1881 the U.S. Government granted Lac Courte Oreilles a 10-acre tract to erect church and school. Completed in 1885, the small log church and school were named for St. Francis Solanus, a Franciscan missionary. In 1921 lightening destroyed the original log church. The present church, built in 1924, is constructed of local pipestone. St. Francis Solanus parishioners quarried and hauled the sacred stone from the pipestone quarry 7 miles away.
Erected 1999 by the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Marker Number 426.)
Location. 45° 53.356′ N, 91° 23.05′ W. Marker is in Reserve, Wisconsin, in Sawyer County. Marker is at the intersection of County Highway E and Mission Road, on the right when traveling north on County Highway E. Marker is in the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation southeast of Hayward, Wisconsin. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13891 West Mission Road, Stone Lake WI 54876, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 10, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 27, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,556 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.