GUIDE TO CATHOLIC RECORDS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S.
Volume 2: Midwest United States
Wisconsin: WI-42

St. Francis Solanus Mission and School
13891 West Mission Road
Stone Lake, WI 54876 

Phone: 715-865-3662
Email: schsis@cheqnet.net

 

History: St. Francis Solanus Mission, Stone Lake, Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, Wisconsin, has been a predominantly Native American (Ojibwa) parish in the Diocese of Superior (Archives: Superior, Wisconsin).

ca. 1845-1860	Milwaukee diocesan priests from St. Joseph’s, La Pointe, visited the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation (Ojibwa)
1860-1868	Milwaukee diocesan priests at Christ Church, Bayfield, visited the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation
1868-1878	La Crosse diocesan priests at Christ Church, Bayfield, visited the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation
1878-1880s	Franciscans (Sacred Heart Province) (Archives: St. Louis, Missouri) at Christ Church, Bayfield, visited the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation
1885-1894	Franciscans at St. Francis, Superior, established and attended St. Francis Solanus Mission (Ojibwa)
1885-1908	School Sisters of St. Francis (Archives: Milwaukee, Wisconsin) established and staffed Lac Court Oreilles Day School (Ojibwa), Stone Lake
1894-1918	Franciscans from St. Agnes, Ashland, attended to St. Francis Solanus
1910-1920 (closed)	Sisters of St. Joseph (Superior, Wisconsin) staffed the school
1918-1938	Became a parish; first Rev. Philip Gordon (Ojibwa), a Superior diocesan priest, and then other Superior diocesan priests, administered St. Francis Solanus Church
1921, 1923-1924	Lightning destroyed St. Francis Solanus Church, which was rebuilt within three years using distinctive local red pipestone
1927-present	School Sisters of St. Francis (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) established and staffed St. Francis Solanus School
1938-1988	Franciscans administered St. Francis Solanus Church
1988-present	Superior diocesan priests have administered St. Francis Solanus

Superior diocesan priests and Franciscans at St. Francis Solanus attended to the following missions among Ojibwa Indians in the Superior Diocese, Wisconsin:

1918-1919 (closed)	Our Lady of Perpetual Help Mission, Mouth of Yellow River
1918-1937 (closed)	Holy Angels Mission, Mud Lake
1918-1944 (became a parish)	St. Anthony of Padua Mission, Lac du Flambeau, Lac du Flambeau Reservation
1922-1934 (closed)	St. Anthony of Padua Mission, Pakwawong
1934-1964 (transferred to St. Philip's, Stone Lake)	St. Ignatius Mission, New Post

 

Holdings of Catholic records about Native Americans:

Inclusive dates: 1885-ongoing

Volume: Over 8 cubic feet

Description: The records at St. Francis Solanus Church and School are described by record type because they lacked a classification scheme when reviewed by Marquette University archivists, 1980.

 

/1 Sacramental records

Inclusive dates: 1885-ongoing

Volume: More than 10 volumes

Description: Baptisms, 1885-present; marriages, deaths, first communions, 1896-present; and confirmations, 1901-present, held at the church.

 

/2 Student files

Inclusive dates: 1920s-ongoing

Volume: Over 6 cubic feet

Description: Held at the school and/or convent.

A. Permanent record cards arranged alphabetically by surname; cards prior to 1950 contain only biographical information; after 1950, cards include grades and occasionally progress reports and other supporting information

B. Photographs, 1965-present, 24 photo albums each containing 125-150 prints

C. Student files, 1970s-present, approximately 1 cubic foot: arranged by grade and thereunder by surname

D. Attendance and grade reports, 1927-1962, 36 volumes

E. Chronicle, 1960-present, 2 volumes: includes handwritten daily entries and newspaper clippings on the Mission and School

F. Diary, 1964-1966, 1 volume: author unidentified

G. Writings by Sister Sirilla La Rush, S.S.S.F., re: the mission, school, and local Ojibwa Indian history and culture, 1925-1960, 3 notebooks

H. Photographs, 1930s-1940s, 125 prints

I. Clippings and publications relating to the mission and School, 1960s-present, .1 cubic foot

J. Microfilm, Sacred Heart Franciscan Records relating to St. Francis Assisi, Red Cliff, St. Francis Solanus, Reserve (Stone Lake), St. Philip, Stone Lake, and St. Francis Xavier, Superior, and papers of Rev. Odoric Derenthal, O.F.M.; reels 22-23, 28-30, 5 reels from Marquette University, Special Collections and Archives (Milwaukee, Wisconsin).

 

Unless otherwise noted, the repository on this page holds (or held) the records described here and they are not held at the Marquette University Archives.

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