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St. Peter's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churches

Oconto, US

St. Peter's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churches

St. Peter's and St. Joseph's Catholic Churches are two historic Catholic churches in Oconto, Wisconsin, United States, both built in the 1890s. On November 10, 1980, they were added together to the National Register of Historic Places. Oconto has a long history of French involvement, going back to t

he Jesuit missionary Allouez and fur-trading days. In 1857 the Catholic church established its first parish in Oconto, St Peter's, building a small wooden church. Initially the congregation was heavily French-American, and the French language was used in services. But there were also non-French Catholics. Over time their numbers grew and they weren't satisfied with the French dominance at St Peter's. In 1869 100 families split off under Father Mathias Schwebach and formed St. Joseph's parish. Most of these families had German, Dutch or Irish roots. To hold the more diverse congregation together, services rotated between English, Dutch, German and Bohemian. Like St. Peter's, St. Joseph's initially built a small wooden church building. But the parishes grew. In 1895 St. Joseph's replaced the wooden building with the brick church that stands today. Carlos Buck of Green Bay designed the new...

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