ST. PAUL 'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH SUAMICO

1874-Present

The Rev. Henry H. TenBroeck held the first services of the Church in Big Suamico. These were held in some of the houses of the members of the congregation, and, I think, in the Doran School House. This was in 1874 and 1875.

In 1876, the Rev. George A. Whitney, rector of St. James' Church, Green Bay, took charge of the congregation, and at the Council of 1877, St. Paul 's Church was reported as an unor­ganized mission. On October 13th, 1878, the mission was or­ganized by Bishop Brown with Rev. Fr. Whitney in charge, with Mr. William G. Burton and Mr. James Black, Wardens; Mr. Henry D. Summerville, Clerk; Mr. E. Tremble, Treasurer. Fr, Whitney resigned in 1879 and the Rev. Dr. Dafter, who had resigned the rectorship of St. Paul's, Fond du Lac , and had been appointed missionary at Oconto, Peshtigo, Marinette and parts adjacent, took  charge. Under his leadership, the little church, 24x64, was erected. This was accomplished by the united work of the whole congregation. Mr. John Cook gave the land; Mr. E. Tremble gave a goodly share of the lumber; Mr. John Crooks gave the stone for the foundation; Mrs. George Ham and Mrs. Edwin Ferguson solicited funds from the whole community; the ladies gave suppers and sales; the men quarried the stone and hauled them, and hauled the lum­ber and did the greater part of the work.

The cornerstone of the church was laid by Bishop Brown October 12, 1881, and the church was consecrated by Bishop Brown (most likely) in 1882. In 1884, the Rev. Joseph Jame­son, then a Candidate for Holy Orders worked in the mission and prepared a large class for Confirmation, which was pre­sented by Dr. Dafter.

From the time that Dr. Dafter resigned Oconto and the mission here and took charge of Marinette only, until the com­ing of the present Vicar, the mission was ministered to by a number of Priests, Candidates and Laymen. The Rev. John U. Graf (a deacon) was here a few times; the Rev. James A. Upjohn, though residing in Fond du Lac, was in charge for a number of years; the Rev. Frank W. Merrill came a few times; the Rev. Dr. Dafter, when rector of All Saints, Appleton in 1895, came back for week day services and prepared and pre­sented a large class for Confirmation; the Rev. C. M. Pullen came for baptisms and burials 1896-1899; and the Rev. Henry S. Foster came from 1900 to the Fall of 1906. The mission owes a great deal to Fr. Foster. He came for week day ser­vices and a good many Sunday services; he had the Rev. L. B. Hastings, then a candidate  for Holy Orders, come here one summer vacation. Mr. (now Rev. Fr.) Hastings prepared a very large class for Confirmation and is very kindly remembered by the congregation today; also he had three devoted laymen come out for services, viz.: Messrs. James T. Armstrong, Ralph W. Smith and Evan Townsend. Also Fr. Foster was in­strumental in getting the present and only resident Vicar the mission has ever had, to come here in the Fall of 1906, viz.: the Rev. Lucius D. Hopkins.

Since his coming there has been a slow but steady and healthy growth. Through the liberality or the Bishops of the Diocese and their friends, and the liberality of the many kind friends of the Vicar and his wife, and the splendid coopera­tion and work of the members or the congregation, the mission has a vicarage and glebe, a commodious parish house and the Church building has been beautified and improved and church­ly furniture added to the equipment. The spiritual growth and development has been as steady and healthy as the temporal and shows that this loved Church of ours can do efficient work in a rural community.

After Fr. Hopkins death, priests were shared with St. Marks, Oconto as they had parsonage for the priest.   About 1950, St. Paul ’s build their own parsonage next to the church.  The first priest to live there was the Rev. Richard G. Becker, with Mrs. Hopkins as his housekeeper.  As times changed and St. Marks, Oconto was closed, supply priests and deacons provided the spiritual leadership of St. Paul ’s and housing was not required. At that point the rectory became rental property that provided0 income for the parish.

A basement was put under the church and an oil burner was installed.  Within a few years an addition was built on the north side of the church, which was the sacristy and later served as the “office.”  In 1935, an organ was donated to the church by the Kohler sisters of Kohler, Wisconsin .  That organ remained in use until 2001 when it became impossible to obtain replacement parts. 

Guild Hall, constructed in 1917 about a half-mile from the church, served the community of Suamico.  It was the center of extra religious and social activities, not only for St. Paul ’s, but also to the Methodists and Roman Catholics of the village.  Throughout the years, this building was host to wedding receptions as well as funeral dinners.  Masonic and public service dinners were held there for about 10 years.  Minstrel shows, dances, card parties and Vacation Bible School were all part of the joyous noise made in this community landmark.

Parish members remember learning to roller skate or square dance in the 40’s at the Guild Hall.  The 50’s saw weekly card parties.  And the 60’s and 70’s saw the Friday night fish fry pack the Hall as the community again came together.

But all good things come to an end.  The last event was held in the hall in 1973.  A funeral dinner for Fred Valentine became the last assemblage of a passing time that was simple and people were not drawn in multi-directions.

Guild Hall became too much for the little parish of St. Paul ’s to maintain, and was sold.  It still stands today, in the same location and is part of an apartment complex know as Guild Hall
Apartments.  It appears that God found a way for the little building to continue to be of service to the community.

The Women’s Guild was originally started as St. Catherine’s Guild. Meetings were held in individual homes and the effort was so successful that non-parishioners came as guests to the meetings. Founded on the premise of providing outreach to those in need, the present day Women’s Guild has become the “go-to” organization of the parish. The Women’s Guild has always and faithfully provided money, womanpower, and drive to see a project through.

Becoming part of the Guild is setting a commitment to the church.  This is best exemplified by Mrs. Lucius Hopkins who served as president for 40 years.  It was the Guild who made the church known in the community.  Bazaars, cookie walks, and craft sales brought people in to see what St. Paul ’s was about and raised money for church needs.  It was dinners for the homeless, or those left alone at East that made outreach come alive. 

In 2001 approximately 4 acres of land was donated through the generosity of Mr. Ken Nelson with the stipulation that St. Paul ’s build a new church within 5 years.  This property was located at the corner of

After much prayer, planning, and guidance from the Holy Spirit the congregation decided to build in the new location.  The diocese of Fond du Lac supported this project with a financial commitment of over $200,000.  It was a great leap of faith for this small parish, but realizing the limitations of the current property, it was decided to build in two phases.  Phase one was the construction of a Fellowship Hall with a dual purpose of worship space and other multi-purpose uses, along with kitchen, offices, and classroom spaces.  Phase two comprising of the sanctuary and narthex to be completed at a later date.

Ground was broken on June 11, 2005 and the first service held on December 11, 2005 with the formal dedication by Bishop Russell Jacobus on January 19, 2006. 

This has been accomplished by the dedicated work of so many at St. Paul ’s church.  God has blessed this small congregation with leaders who have a vision and are not afraid to look into the future, and yet not afraid to roll up their sleeves and get to work. God has blessed St. Paul’s with parishioners that are not satisfied with the status quo, and are willing to move the parish forward. This little country mission church has been blessed with members who remember the past and are willing to share their lessons with younger members so that we can learn from the lessons of the past to take us to the future.