Green Bay Ethnic Trail
Green Bay Road was the main route of settlement and communication in 19th century eastern Wisconsin. The road followed an ancient Indian trail network and was surveyed for use as a military road between Fort Dearborn (Chicago) and Fort Howard (Green Bay) by the United States War Department in 1835. Completed in 1840 with private funds, Green Bay Road served as the only north-south route in eastern Wisconsin for many years. Waves of European immigrants who came to Wisconsin seeking a new home travelled this route and settled along it. Eventually, about 30 different ethnic communities were established along Green Bay Road, leaving a rich cultural heritage that can be seen in their building methods, such as German “Fachwerk” and Irish fieldstone, heard in their place names like “Oostburg” and “Freistadt,” celebrated in their annual festivals such as “Holland Fest” and “Slovenian Picnic,” and observed in their unique architecture like rural “housebarn” and the ethnic church.
Marker is at the intersection of Green Bay Road (Wisconsin Route 31) and 95th Street, on the right when traveling north on Green Bay Road.
Courtesy hmdb.org
