thumb|[[Wisconsin Historical Society Marker 189: Marquette-Joliet. Located on Front St in east De Pere.]]De Pere ( ) is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, located on the ancestral homeland of the Menominee people. When French explorer Jean Nicolet visited in 1634–35, the site was home to a multi-tribal settlement of several thousand people, drawn by the abundant fishing at the first rapids of the Fox River. The Menominee, who call themselves Mamaceqtaw ("the people"), have inhabited the Fox River valley for over 10,000 years and are the only Wisconsin tribe with no migration story—their origin is in this land.
In 1671, French Jesuit missionary Claude-Jean Allouez founded the St. Francis Xavier Mission at the rapids, establishing a base for proselytizing Indigenous peoples of the western Great Lakes. The site became known as Rapides des Pères ("rapids of the fathers"), later shortened to De Pere. A billion-dollar cleanup completed in 2020 dredged or capped over 6 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment.
History
When the first European, Jean Nicolet, visited the place in 1634–35, De Pere was the site of a polyglot settlement of several thousand attracted by the fishing at the first rapids of the Fox River. In 1671, French Jesuit explorer Père Claude-Jean Allouez founded the St. Francis Xavier Mission at the last set of rapids on the Fox River before it enters The Bay of Green Bay. The site was known as Rapides Des Pères (rapids of the fathers) which became modern day De Pere.
The present city of De Pere had its beginnings in 1836, when John Penn Arndt and Charles Tullar incorporated the De Pere Hydraulic Company and drew up the first plat of the town. In 1837, a popular vote established De Pere as the county seat of Brown County; it maintained this status until 1854, when another election moved the county seat to Green Bay.
Politically, under the first township plan for Brown County, the area that is now the city of De Pere fell on the boundary between the town of Howard (which comprised much of the area west of the Fox River) and the town of "Mason", which comprised roughly the southern half of the county. In 1838, the area was first formally established by the territorial government as a separate township entity. At that time it was named the town of "Wilcox", for Randall Wilcox, who was then president of the De Pere Hydraulic Company, and it comprised most of the area of the current city of De Pere as well as the area that is now the town of Ledgeview, Wisconsin.
In 1839, the town of Wilcox was divided along the Fox River, with the eastern half becoming the town of De Pere (Ledgeview); the area west of the river was re-integrated into the town of Howard.
St. Norbert College, which abuts the banks of the Fox River on the city's west side near the Claude Allouez Bridge, was founded by Norbertine Abbot Pennings in 1898.
Registered historic places
De Pere has several areas on the National Register of Historic Places. North Broadway Street Historic District is listed as #83003368. Large homes line Broadway, Ridgeway Blvd., Morris, Fulton, Franklin, Cass, Front, and Wisconsin Streets near the Fox River.
The De Pere Lock and Dam Historic District (#93001331) was added in 1993.
The Union Hotel was added to the list in 2003.
The Randall Avenue Historic District and North Michigan Street-North Superior Street Historic District were added in 2007.
The Edwin and Jennie Gutknecht House was listed in 2015.
The St. Norbert College Historic District was added to the list in 2018.
The Mansion Street World War II Defense Housing Historic District and the Daviswood Ranch Homes Historic District were added to the list in 2021.
Geography
De Pere is located at (44.4460910, −88.0740510).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
Climate
{|
|-
|
|}
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, De Pere had a population of 25,410, and the population density was .
99.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 9,972 households, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.1% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 22,343 || 87.9%
|-
| Black or African American || 471 || 1.9%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 334 || 1.3%
|-
| Asian || 545 || 2.1%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 31 || 0.1%
|-
| Some other race || 357 || 1.4%
|-
| Two or more races || 1,329 || 5.2%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 1,067 || 4.2%
|}
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,800 people, 9,254 households, and 5,869 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 9,742 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.0% White, 0.9% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.1% of the population.
There were 9,254 households, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 33.7 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000,
The National Shrine of Saint Joseph is located at St. Norbert College.
St. Norbert Abbey is the mother canonry of the Premonstratensian Order in the United States.
Government
thumb|De Pere City Hall
De Pere is represented by Tony Wied in the United States House of Representatives, and by Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin in the United States Senate. Jamie Wall represents De Pere in the Wisconsin State Senate, while Benjamin Franklin represents De Pere in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
De Pere has a mayor-council form of government with a full-time city administrator. The mayor is elected. The city council consists of eight alderpersons, two elected from each of four districts. All elected officials serve two-year terms.
thumb|De Pere City Council chambers
Education
thumb|Aerial view of St. Norbert College
De Pere is served by two school districts.
The Unified School District of De Pere has the following schools:
- De Pere High School
- De Pere Middle School
- Foxview Intermediate School
- Dickinson Elementary School
- Heritage Elementary School
- Altmayer Elementary School
The School District of West De Pere has the following schools:
- West De Pere High School
- West De Pere Middle School
- West De Pere Intermediate School
- Westwood Elementary School
- Hemlock Creek Elementary School
- Phantom Knight Charter School
De Pere Private Schools:
- Notre Dame of De Pere
- Our Lady of Lourdes
De Pere is also home to St. Norbert College, a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college.
Syble Hopp is a school for children ages 3–21 years old who have cognitive and other developmental disabilities. It is operated by the Brown County Children with Disabilities Education Board.
Transportation
thumb|Broadway St, looking south
Interstate 41 travels north–south on the west side of De Pere. Wisconsin Highway 32/Wisconsin Highway 57 enter De Pere from the south and split in the middle of De Pere. WIS 32 heads east–west through De Pere before turning north. WIS 57 continues straight north. There is limited transit service operated by Green Bay Metro, and the CN provides freight railroad service. The Fox River is navigable for boat and canoe traffic, with the exception of a dam.
Notable people
- Arthur J. Altmeyer, Commissioner of Social Security
- Jason Berken, MLB player
- Wilson Charles, athlete
- Chris Henry Coffey, actor
- Robert John Cornell, Roman Catholic priest, former member of the United States House of Representatives
- Oliver Daniel, arts administrator, musicologist, and composer
- Charles W. Day, Wisconsin state senator
- Gary T. Dilweg, Wisconsin state representative
- M. H. Fisk, first mayor of De Pere
- Burley Follett, former mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Ben Franklin, Wisconsin state representative
- Paul Gigot, political commentator
- Earl Gilson, Wisconsin state representative
- Charles Hall, Wisconsin state representative
- Robert J. Havighurst, physicist
- Charlie Hill, comedian
- James F. Hughes, U.S. representative
- Henry J. Janssen, Wisconsin state representative
- Stephen King, author
- Joseph Konopka, incarcerated terrorist known as "Dr. Chaos"
- Scott McCurley, NFL assistant coach
- Robert J. McGeehan, Wisconsin state senator
- Terry Anne Meeuwsen, Miss America 1973, Miss Wisconsin 1972, co-host of The 700 Club
- George F. Merrill, Wisconsin state senator
- Enos Warren Persons, Wisconsin state senator
- John Schneider, NFL executive
- John L. Schnitzler, Wisconsin state representative
- Edward A. Seymour, Wisconsin state representative
- Alexander H. Smith, mycologist
- Gale Staley, MLB player
- William J. Sweeney, Wisconsin state representative
- Tony Wied, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Randall Wilcox, first village president of De Pere
References
External links
- City of De Pere website