De Pere ( ) is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Green Bay metropolitan area.

History

When the first European, Jean Nicolet, visited the place in 1634–35, De Pere was the site of a polyglot settlement of several thousand attracted by the fishing at the first rapids of the Fox River. In 1671, French Jesuit explorer Père Claude-Jean Allouez founded the St. Francis Xavier Mission at the last set of rapids on the Fox River before it enters The Bay of Green Bay. The site was known as Rapides Des Pères (rapids of the fathers) which became modern day De Pere. The present city of De Pere had its beginnings in 1836, when John Penn Arndt and Charles Tullar incorporated the De Pere Hydraulic Company and drew up the first

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

of the town. In 1837, a popular vote established De Pere as the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Brown County; it maintained this status until 1854, when another election moved the county seat to Green Bay. Politically, under the first township plan for Brown County, the area that is now the city of De Pere fell on the boundary between the town of Howard (which comprised much of the area west of the Fox River) and the town of "Mason", which comprised roughly the southern half of the county. In 1838, the area was first formally established by the territorial government as a separate township entity. At that time it was named the town of "Wilcox", for Randall Wilcox, who was then president of the De Pere Hydraulic Company, and it comprised most of the area of the current city of De Pere as well as the area that is now the town of Ledgeview, Wisconsin. In 1839, the town of Wilcox was divided along the Fox River, with the eastern half becoming the town of De Pere (Ledgeview); the area west of the river was re-integrated into the town of Howard. The village of De Pere was incorporated within the town of De Pere by an act of the state legislature on March 6, 1857. West De Pere, on the west side of the river, was eventually set off from Howard as a separate

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, and in 1870, the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of West De Pere was incorporated. The west–east division at the river persisted until 1890. In 1883 the village of De Pere was re-incorporated as the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

of De Pere, that same year the village of West De Pere was re-incorporated as the city of Nicolet (after voyageur Jean Nicolet). In 1887 the city of Nicolet was renamed the city of West De Pere, and in 1890 the city of West De Pere was finally consolidated into the city of De Pere to form a single city government. St. Norbert College, which abuts the banks of the Fox River on the city's west side near the Claude Allouez Bridge, was founded by Norbertine Abbot Pennings in 1898.

Registered historic places

De Pere has several areas on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. North Broadway Street Historic District is listed as #83003368. Large homes line Broadway, Ridgeway Blvd., Morris, Fulton, Franklin, Cass, Front, and Wisconsin Streets near the Fox River."WISCONSIN – Brown County – Historic Districts"
Retrieved June 5, 2007 The De Pere Lock and Dam Historic District (#93001331) was added in 1993. The Union Hotel was added to the list in 2003. The Randall Avenue Historic District and North Michigan Street-North Superior Street Historic District were added in 2007. The Edwin and Jennie Gutknecht House was listed in 2015. The St. Norbert College Historic District was added to the list in 2018. The Mansion Street World War II Defense Housing Historic District and the Daviswood Ranch Homes Historic District were added to the list in 2021.

Geography

De Pere is located at (44.4460910, −88.0740510). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 25,410. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,305 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.9%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.1% Asian, 1.9%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.3% Native American, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.4% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 4.2%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 23,800 people, 9,254 households, and 5,869 families living in the city. The

was . There were 9,742 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.0%

, 0.9%

, 1.2% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population. There were 9,254 households, of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 33.7 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.4% were from 25 to 44; 23.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 20,559 people, 7,724 households, and 5,020 families living in the city. The

was 1,938.4 people per square mile (748.2/km²). There were 7,993 housing units at an average density of 753.6 per square mile (290.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.71%

, 0.54%

, 0.92% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.03%

, 0.19% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 7,724 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 14.8% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 18.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $50,282, and the median income for a family was $61,688. Males had a median income of $39,710 versus $27,166 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $24,013. About 2.3% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 3.2% of those under the age of 18 and 5.4% of those 65 and older.

Religion

St. Mark Lutheran Church is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in De Pere. The National Shrine of Saint Joseph is located at St. Norbert College. St. Norbert Abbey is the mother canonry of the Premonstratensian Order in the United States.

Government

De Pere is represented by Mike Gallagher in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and by Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. André Jacque represents De Pere in the Wisconsin State Senate, while Shae Sortwell represents De Pere in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. De Pere has a mayor-council form of government with a full-time city administrator. The mayor is elected. The city council consists of eight alderpersons, two elected from each of four districts. All elected officials serve two-year terms. De Pere City Council Chambers

Education

De Pere is served by two school districts. The Unified School District of De Pere has the following schools: * De Pere High School *De Pere Middle School *Foxview Intermediate School *Dickinson Elementary School *Heritage Elementary School *Altmayer Elementary School The School District of West De Pere has the following schools: * West De Pere High School *West De Pere Middle School *West De Pere Intermediate School *Westwood Elementary School *Hemlock Creek Elementary School *Phantom Knight Charter School De Pere Private Schools: *Notre Dame of De Pere *Our Lady of Lourdes De Pere is also home to St. Norbert College, a private

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

liberal arts college. Syble Hopp is a school for children ages 3–21 years old who have cognitive and other developmental disabilities. It is operated by the Brown County Children with Disabilities Education Board.

Transportation

Interstate 41 travels north–south on the west side of De Pere. Wisconsin Highway 32/ Wisconsin Highway 57 enter De Pere from the south and split in the middle of De Pere. WIS 32 heads east–west through De Pere before turning north. WIS 57 continues straight north. There is limited transit service operated by Green Bay Metro and the CN provides freight railroad service. The Fox River is navigable for boat and canoe traffic with the exception of a dam.

Notable people

* Arthur J. Altmeyer, Commissioner of Social Security * Dr. Ellie Arroway, fictional character from Contact * Jason Berken, MLB player * Wilson Charles, athlete * Chris Henry Coffey, actor * Robert John Cornell, Roman Catholic priest, former member of the

* Oliver Daniel, arts administrator, musicologist, and composer * Charles W. Day, Wisconsin State Senator * Gary T. Dilweg, Wisconsin State Representative * M. H. Fisk, first mayor of De Pere * Burley Follett, former mayor of

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

* Ben Franklin, Wisconsin State Representative-elect * Paul Gigot, political commentator * Earl Gilson, Wisconsin State Representative * Charles Hall, Wisconsin State Representative * Robert J. Havighurst, physicist * Charlie Hill, comedian * James F. Hughes, U.S. Representative * Henry J. Janssen, Wisconsin State Representative *

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, Author * Joseph Konopka, incarcerated terrorist known as "Dr. Chaos" * Scott McCurley, NFL assistant coach * Robert J. McGeehan, Wisconsin State Senator * Terry Anne Meeuwsen, Miss America 1973, Miss Wisconsin 1972, co-host of the 700 Club * George F. Merrill, Wisconsin State Senator * Enos Warren Persons, Wisconsin State Senator * John Schneider, NFL executive * Edward A. Seymour, Wisconsin State Representative * Alexander H. Smith, mycologist * Gale Staley, MLB player * William J. Sweeney, Wisconsin State Representative * Tony Wied, member of the U.S. House of Representatives * Randall Wilcox, first village president of De Pere

References

External links

City of De Pere WebsiteDe Pere City CouncilList of De Pere MayorsBrief History of De PereList of De Pere Boards, Commissions & CommitteesList of De Pere ParksDe Pere Maps
{{authority control Cities in Wisconsin Cities in Brown County, Wisconsin Green Bay metropolitan area Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Wisconsin