Woodland Indian tribes, French voyagers, fur trappers, Jesuit missionaries - at one time or another in the 17th century, these brave travelers came down the historic water highway called the Fox River. A natural stopping place for them was where the Fox emptied into the bay. This stopping place became Wisconsin's first settlement - the area that is now the City of Green Bay. Europeans were in the Green Bay Area in 1634, just 14 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
The French called the bay "La Baie Verte" because of its greenish color, but first it was La Baie des Puants - the Bay of the Stinking Water.
For Samuel de Champlain, explorer and founder-governor of 17th century New France in Quebec, the name and rumors of a strange race who called themselves "People of the Sea" held mystery and the promise of untold wealth. It's fertile soil and virgin forests teeming with fur-bearing animals were an irresistible resource. Champlain chose Jean Nicolet de Belleborne, son of a Normandy mail carrier to explore the new territory.
Jean Nicolet (as the English referred to him) was intelligent, courageous and endowed with a talent for Indian diplomacy. He is credited as being the first European in the Green Bay area - just 14 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Early in July 1634 the young Frenchman and his small entourage embarked from Quebec in canoes. As he cruised the western shore of La Baie des Puants in late summer or early fall of 1634, Nicolet learned the exotic people he sought were only a few hours away. Preparing for his moment of discovery, he donned a flowing damask robe embroidered in flowers and birds - garb befitting what he expected would be an appearance before the mandarins of the East.
The Puant people watched his approach from the eastern shore, high on the wooded slopes of Red Banks, north of present Green Bay. Nicolet stepped ashore, raised his arms and discharged two pistols into the air.
Green Bay's history as an inhabited region began long before the French claimed it. Archaeological findings establish the region as a seat of primitively sophisticated cultures many centuries before the white man's arrival. The dense woods were alive with black bear, wolf, fox, and bobcat as well as mink, weasel, and raccoon. Thick furs, especially from bear and deer, provided protection from the long winter's cold, and small water animals like beaver and otter provided delicious meat as well as pelts. The bay's waters gave bountiful perch, bass, walleye and northern pike, whitefish, trout, musky, and sturgeon.
When Nicolet arrived, the area's inhabitants were the Winnebagos, a Sioux-speaking tribe. Besides hunting and fishing, the Winnebagos cultivated corn, bean, squash, and tobacco. Wild rice, a dietary staple, grew in abundance in the river and its tributaries, and was gathered along with nuts, berries, and edible roots of the woods. The tribe has roles clearly delineated according to sex. The men hunted, fished, fashioned the stone or wood tools need for the hunt, and made canoes. The women cleaned and cooked the kill, prepared the hides and furs for use as clothing and shelter, wove twine for fish nets, tended the garden, and gathered rice. Women were active in tribal politics and voted in all councils. Their status in the tribal structure was high, and no tribal action was possible without the approval of their majority. It was with this tribe that Nicolet spent the winter, exploring the waterway beyond La Baie and forming alliances important to commerce. After a year in the wilderness, he returned to Quebec in 1635.
Samuel de Champlain died a few months later and with him the passion for exploration and discovery. Hence no extended stays were made at La Baye Verte until Pere Claude Allouez established St. Francis Xavier Mission at Rapides Des Peres in 1671. A priceless relic of the era is an ostensorium given to the mission by trader Nicolas Perrrot who represented the French at La Baye until 1689. Exhausted by Indian and European wars, the French made no attempt to populate the area before they were driven out by the English in 1763. Charles de Langlade, called the "Father of Wisconsin," was a half-French Ottawa war chief who is credited with planning the ambush of British General Braddock and George Washington in that war. de Langlade and his family became the first permanent settlers in Wisconsin when they moved to Green Bay in 1765. The Grignons, Porliers and Lawes who followed brought Canadian-French culture with them. Colorful "jack-knife Judge" Reaume dispensed British justice in the territory.
In spite of American independence, Green Bay remained a British stronghold until after the war of 1812. Doty, Whitney, Arndt, Baird and Martin were among the American settlers who pushed French culture into the background following the American establishment of Fort Howard in 1816.
By the time of Wisconsin statehood in 1848, fur trading had given way to lumbering. For a short time in the 1860's and 70's, iron smelting in charcoal kilns rivaled the timber industry while the port handled increasing amounts of fuel, feed, and lumber. Today's major local industry had its start in 1895 when the first paper mill was built.
The borough of Green Bay was formed in 1838 and is the nucleus of the City of today. The borough of Fort Howard was formed in 1856 and it preceded the City of Fort Howard which consolidated on April 16,1895 with the City of Green Bay to form one city - the City of Green Bay. As the borough of Green Bay, the acreage consisted of 1,149 acres. The City today has 29,489.64 acres within its borders.
The 1850's brought in influx of Belgian, German, Scandinavian, Irish and Holland immigrants as word spread of America's cheap land and good soil. The greatest concentration of newcomers came from Belgium. They cleared the land to farm and build their homes.
In the 1860's the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad linked the area to other parts of the state, greatly enhancing business opportunities. As the area grew and prospered - with the convenience of the river nearby and timber still in abundance - the paper industry soon became a major employer. In time, the location also became an international port with domestic and international trade.
In the 1920's the city's meat packing industry provided a name for a company sponsored "sandlot" football team. The Green Bay Packers soon became on of two charter teams of the National Football League. The Green Bay Packers have won more championships - twelve - than any other team in the NFL history. Green Bay is also the only NFL team to win three straight titles, having done it twice (1929-30-31 and 1965-66-67). The Packers hold the honor of winning the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967 and again in 1997. Their heritage, tradition along with success on the gridiron has brought invaluable name recognition to the Green Bay Area. The oldest city in Wisconsin, Green Bay looks back proudly on its 350-year history. But, equally important, Green Bay has always had its eye on the future. We are a progressive, modern city with a thriving, diversified economy. Our people live and work in an atmosphere of commitment - to their work - to their families, to each other.
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