The Fond du Lac City County Government Center on July 20, 2014
Fond du Lac County was created in 1836 from unorganized territory that had been part of Brown County. The name is French, meaning “bottom of the lake” which is appropriate because both the city and county of Fond du Lac are located at the southern end of Lake Winnebago.
Native American tribes lived in the area long before Europeans arrived. The first explorer to visit the area was probably Claude-Jean Allouez, who was followed by French fur trappers. The land at the foot of Lake Winnebago was purchased by James Doty, a Federal judge for the western half of the Michigan Territory who was not above land speculation. Doty’s idea was it would be a good place for a city. In 1836 it was proposed that Fond du Lac become the capital of the Wisconsin Territory but the motion failed. Belmont was chosen as the first capital of the territory, then Burlington in what is now Iowa was the capital. In 1838 Madison, another of Doty’s land speculations, became the territorial capital.
Construction of the Military Ridge Road began in 1835 and this led from Green Bay to Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien via what are now the cities of Portage, Fond du Lac, Madison and Dodgeville. The construction of the road helped the growth of Fond du Lac: the first school was built in 1843, the first railroad line came to the community in 1852 and the first English language newspaper began publishing in 1856.
The Fond du Lac County courts are located at 160 South Macy Street, in the City County Government Center. I visited on a Sunday morning in July 2014 on my way home from my first triathlon in Door County. It was a quiet summer morning so I had the place pretty much to myself. The City County building is fairly new, so it’s just not as interesting as some of the older courthouses. It’s just a nice well-maintained office building that has the sheriff’s department on one end. Across Macy Street from the City County building is Veterans Park which I also visited. One of the branches of the Fond du Lac River runs behind the City County building.
I don’t have a lot of memories associated with Fond du Lac County. The city of Fond du Lac lies at the junction of Highways 41 and 151, so I often pass by on my way from Madison to Appleton, and as a child I remember driving form Appleton to Milwaukee and realizing that Fond du Lac is roughly at the midpoint of the trip. I do remember visiting the City of Ripon several times as a child. This is the supposed birthplace of the Republican Party (1854) but I remember it more as the place where “Rippin’ Good Cookies” are made.
The Village of Rosendale is fairly well-known among people who frequently drive through Fond du Lac County. Rosendale is located on Highway 26, which is the shortest route between the Fox Cities area and Madison. Rosendale is a notorious speed trap. There is a reason why such a small village can afford so many new police cars and a nice new public safety building! I’ve only been stopped once, back in 1998, but now I know where the cops station the patrol cars, so I always slow down and wave to them.