Flambeau Mission Church
About this property
The Flambeau Mission Church (also known as St. Francis of Assisi Mission Church) is a historic church south of Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States. The church was the first church in Rusk County, built just below the junction of the Chippewa and Flambeau Rivers in 1882 to serve the French and Indian community called Flambeau Farms. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. In the later 1800s, logging and log-driving made the Flambeau and Chippewa rivers a busy place. White settlement began around 1847 and by 1864 the Daniel Shaw Lumber Company had established a farm near the junction of the rivers to supply its logging operations. In addition to river traffic, the stagecoach line from Chippewa Falls into the logging frontier also stopped at Shaw's farm. A mile and a half to the east, a village of Chippewa Indians had taken root on the south bank of the river. Franciscan missionaries visited the village and around 1881 they built a simple mission church facing the river, with local carpenter Thomas Orthman and other residents working under the direction of Father Chrysostom Verwyst and Father Casimir. In back was a one-story priest's quarters. In 1884 a 2-story annex was added, intended as a monastery but never used for that purpose. The bell tower was added in 1903. The Chippewa community had about 70 confirmed members at the 1881 dedication of the church. This was around the peak of pine logging, and the Flambeau settlement had about 11 saloons. With the passing of logging, all of this has faded. The church is the only building surviving from the little logging community.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Flambeau Mission Church
This page lists Flambeau Mission Church. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Flambeau Mission Church listed on the National Register?
Flambeau Mission Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 6, 1979.
What type of historic resource is Flambeau Mission Church?
Flambeau Mission Church is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Flambeau Mission Church?
The period of significance for Flambeau Mission Church is recorded as the colonial era.
Can I research the history near Flambeau Mission Church?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Flambeau Mission Church will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Rusk County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Rusk County.
Explore RuskCounty ›More historic places in Wisconsin
Browse all historic places in Wisconsin.
View Wisconsinhistoric sites ›Wisconsin history
Colonial settlement, territorial period, and statehood narrative.
Wisconsinhistory ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Flambeau Mission Church will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.