The roots of the Diocese of Fond du Lac are in 1822 when the Oneida Indians, removing from New York state, settled ten miles from Green Bay around Duck Creek. The first non-Roman Catholic church building erected in the Northwest Territory and what would become Wisconsin was built by the Oneidas. The history of the Episcopal Church in this area for the next fifty years was filled with many missionary endeavors establishing parishes and missions.[3]
After a process begun in 1866 and completed by action of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church held in the city of New York, October 7, 1874, the Diocese of Fond du Lac was erected from the Fond du Lac Deanery of the Diocese of Wisconsin. In 1870, Fond du Lac was the second largest city in Wisconsin.[4] The remaining counties continued as the Diocese of Wisconsin until 1888, when it was renamed the Diocese of Milwaukee.
In 1875, after three elections, John Henry Hobart Brown accepted election as first bishop and was consecrated December 15, 1875 at St. John's Episcopal Church, Cohoes, New York.[5] Brown declared the city of Fond du Lac and St. Paul's Church as the episcopal See. The other viable location was Christ Church, Green Bay, but one likely reason Fond du Lac was chosen is it was a 'free-church' and Christ Church, Green Bay still had pew rents.
After a tremendous growth and laying the foundation of the newly erected Diocese, its second bishop, Charles Chapman Grafton, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement and its third, Reginald Heber Weller, continued to build on the successes of those who came before them.
Growth, time, and distance led to the erection of a third Wisconsin Diocese. The Diocese of Fond du Lac established its current boundaries when the Diocese of Eau Claire was created in out of counties of both the Diocese of Milwaukee and Diocese of Fond du Lac in 1928, immediately prior to the onset of the Great Depression. On October 22, 2011, the Diocese of Fond du Lac and the Diocese of Eau Claire voted to "junction" into one diocese but Russell Jacobus, Bishop of Fond du Lac, withheld his consent due to the closeness and irregularities of the vote.[6][7]
Since its founding in 1875, the Diocese of Fond du Lac has seen congregations come and go, often paralleling the coming and going of the population as towns, villages and cities sprung up and sometimes disappeared with economic opportunities of the area. Some congregations have established themselves deeply in communities and others have closed after many decades of sharing the Gospel. The past two decades have experienced the same decline in members felt by many main-line denominations. Through it all, there have been people of faith in the Anglican and Episcopal tradition who have worshipped God through the liturgies of the Church tracing their roots to the first Apostles and primarily Anglo-Catholic in nature.
In 2021 it was announced that the diocese of Fond du Lac, Eau Claire, and Milwaukee would contemplate entering an agreement of greater collaboration. With around 4,000 baptized members, Fond du Lac is among the Episcopal Church's smaller dioceses.[8] In October 2021 it was announced that the three diocese would be actively pursuing reuniting as one diocese in Wisconsin.[9] On May 4, 2024, all three dioceses approved the "Joint Agreement of Union," which now requires approval at the Episcopal Church's General Convention in June. [10]
On June 28, the 81st General Convention of The Episcopal Church approved the merger of the Dioceses of Fon Du Lac, Eau Claire, and Milwaukee in to one diocese known as the diocese of Wisconsin.[11]
Much of the interior of the cathedral is a credit to the effort of the second bishop, Charles Chapman Grafton. There are outstanding examples of late Victorian ecclesiastical art including woodcarvings from the workshop of Balthasar Schmitt, a German artisan who emigrated to the US for the job, the Fond du Lac Church Furnishings Company, and the Svoboda Church Furniture Company of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. The frontal on the St. Augustine chapel altar is an exquisite piece of color-infused marble. The stained glass is by Robert L. Jacoby and the Canadian John Spence Company.
Inventory of the Church Archives of Wisconsin: Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Diocese of Fond du Lac. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Records Survey. 1942. prepared by the Wisconsin Historical Records Survey, Division of Community Services Programs, Work Projects Administration
Kronschnabel, Darlene (1975). Centennial celebration of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, 1875-1975. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: Diocese of Fond du Lac.
