Fond du Lac Loop Bike Tour

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In the early 1900s, local citizens of Fond Du Lac started an effort to construct this bandstand at Lakeside Park. William McDermott, a well-known resident of Fond du Lac, provided the city with funds to build this structure which has been well-preserved. The Fond du Lac Historic Preservation Commission designated the bandstand as a local historic site in 1991.

2. Supple Marsh

Supple Marsh is a 107 acre wetland in Lakeside Park. Named for the original owners, the Supple Family, the DNR states that the marsh was probably formed during the retreat of a glacial ice sheet. As the ice retreated, gravel and rocks were deposited, forming a large lake called Glacial Lake Oshkosh. Centuries later, this lake became known as Lake Winnebago.

3. Pier Cemetery

Located in Section 22 on a small family plot, the Pier Cemetery contains the natural remains of the first pioneer settlers of Fond du Lac, starting with the passing of Fanna (Kendall) Pier, wife of Colwert E. Pier in 1838. It is also the burial ground for Pier, the first permanent white settler who helped build the Fond du Lac House in 1836. This small cemetery also contains the remains of Kate (Hamilton) Pier who came to Wisconsin at the age of 8. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1888, becoming the second female lawyer in Wisconsin, and the first to serve as a Circuit Court Commissioner. Colonel Colwert K. Pier served in the Civil War.

4. Galloway House

The Galloway House is a historic home located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, part of the Historic Galloway House and Village, which is operated by the Fond du Lac County Historical Society. The original portion of a simple house was built ca. 1846 by Selim Newton until Edwin H. Galloway purchased the home in 1868. Galloway hired Newton's son-in-law, Thomas H. Green, as the architect for each of the additions up to the final one in 1880. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1976) and is a good example of Victorian Italianate architecture.

5. Rienzi Cemetery

The name Rienzi may come from the last Roman tribute—Cola di Rienzi—a popular Italian leader who believed he could help restore ancient Rome’s greatness, or it may be named for an 1840 opera by Wagner. Rienzi Cemetery is one of the oldest local cemeteries, three years before Wisconsin achieved statehood.

6. Taycheedah Correctional Institution

In the early 1850s, female offenders were housed in the state prison known today as Waupun Correctional Institution. In 1912 work began for a facility in Taycheedah and in 1921 the Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women was opened. The first inmates were mostly committed for “crimes against morality,” while repeat and more violent or serious offenders continued to be housed in Waupun.

7. Doty House

The Doty House, also known as “The Homestead,” was built in 1839 and is possibly the oldest structure in Fond du Lac County. The house was built of square logs with plastered interior walls. The interior still retains the random-width plank flooring, narrow steps to the loft, and exposed (tamarack) tree trunk beams in the basement.

8. Gurney Refrigerator Co.

The south portion of this building was built for LaBelle Wagon Works which was founded in 1869 as Farnsworth, Knapp and Co. In 1874, interest in the company was purchased by Benjamin F. Moore and A.G. Ruggles and the business expanded. As of 1874, the company produced 3,000 wagons annually; in 1880, a county history identifies that 200 workers were producing 20 wagons a day.

9. Northern Casket Co.

According to a 1917 city directory, the Northern Casket Company was incorporated in 1872, with a capital stock of $400,000. In 1906, the structure was operating as the Nehrbass Casket Company, having acquired the building which had been used for a few years as a canning company, and improvements were made to the original two-story building.

10. Giddings & Lewis

Giddings & Lewis began in the mid-nineteenth century when John Bonnell opened a machine shop to provide services to the booming lumber industry in Fond du Lac. In 1866, the company added a foundry and named the firm Novelty Iron Works. By the turn of the century, George Giddings and O.F. Lewis had acquired the firm, naming it Giddings & Lewis Manufacturing Company and making sawmill machinery and steam engines.

11. First Baptist Church

The First Baptist Church of Fond du Lac was organized in 1845 and joined with the People’s Church, an unaffiliated body, in 1905. With the increase in size the congregation had to construct a new building to accommodate families and over 500 Sunday School attendees. This locally and nationally designated structure is an example of early 20th century Neo-Gothic design.

12. Chicago & Northwestern Depot

This depot was constructed in 1890 and operated until the mid-1970s. The Northwestern system began in the Village of Fond du Lac on July 10, 1851, with the construction of the Rock River Valley Union Railroad. The C&NW and other railroads were deeply connected to the growth of area communities and the depot has been restored thanks to the efforts of local citizens and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Fond du Lac Loop Bike Tour

Created by Sarah Stevenson on March 19th 2021, 4:41:44 pm.

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Description

The Fond du Lac Loop is a 16-mile bicycle and pedestrian pathway designed to facilitate a safe, healthy, enjoyable way for community members to explore our beautiful city and to provide for a cost effective alternative system of transportation. The beauty of a Loop system is that it provides easy accessibility for Fond du Lac residents. The length is a perfect distance for an after-work bike ride/walk/run with lots of alternative ways to shorten or lengthen the journey. Additionally, The Loop allows people from different parts of town to rendezvous and continue to journey together.

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Fond du Lac Loop Bike Tour

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