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. 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.)

Topics and series. This historical

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marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1796.

Location. 45° 53.356′ N, 91° 23.05′ W. Marker is in Reserve, Wisconsin, in Sawyer County. It 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.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Wisconsin. It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker,

Photographed by Keith L, September 17, 2011

2. St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission Marker

measured as the crow flies: Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medard Groseilliers (approx. 3.6 miles away); Namekagon - Court Oreilles Portage (approx. 6.1 miles away); Court Oreilles (approx. 7.6 miles away); Hayward and the "Big Mill" (approx. 9.6 miles away); The Chippewa Flowage (approx. 9.9 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. St. Francis Solanus Parish. Photo of the church. (Submitted on October 27, 2009.)

2. History of St. Francis Solanus Mission. (Submitted on October 27, 2009.)

St. Francis Solanus Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith L, September 17, 2011

3. St. Francis Solanus Church

13891 West Mission Road

Photographed by Keith L, September 17, 2011

4. St. Francis Solanus Church

St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Keith L, September 17, 2011

5. St. Francis Solanus Indian Mission Entrance

Photographed by Greta Schassler, July 2, 2024

6. St. Francis Solanus Church

Credits. This page was last revised on July 9, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 27, 2009, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 2,395 times since then and 110 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 13, 2011, by Keith L of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. 6. submitted on July 8, 2024, by Greta Mulder of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.