John Penn Arndt (November 25, 1780 – June 10, 1861) was an American merchant, pioneer, and legislator. Born in

Durham, Pennsylvania Durham is an unincorporated community in Durham Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Durham is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 212 Pennsylvania Route 212 (PA 212) is a state highway in Bucks County, Pennsyl ...

, Arndt built Durham boats with his family near

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

. He moved to

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, and then to Mackinac Island in Michigan Territory. In 1824, Arndt moved to Green Bay, Michigan Territory and then opened a saw mill in present-day

Oconto County, Wisconsin Oconto County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,965. Its county seat is Oconto. The county was established in 1851. Oconto County is part of the Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical ...

in 1827. Arndt was a merchant, fur trapper, owned a ferry, and was an inn keeper. Arndt served in the first Wisconsin Territorial Council (

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature) from 1836–38; his son, Charles C. P. Arndt, also served in that body. He died in Green Bay, Wisconsin.John Penn Arndt, Wisconsin Historical Society
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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arndt, John Penn 1780 births 1861 deaths People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Buffalo, New York People from Mackinac Island, Michigan Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin Members of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians Politicians from Buffalo, New York 19th-century American businesspeople