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More about Fond du Lac:

Lodging
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A Journey to the Far End of the Lake
 

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"First on the Lake!"

Lakeside Park on Lake WinnebagoThe very same former federal judge (James Duane Doty) who purchased over 1000 acres of swamp land in an area that later was voted to become the state capitol of Wisconsin also – in the very same year (1836) – formed a partnership with about 20 investors and created a land company to sell 3,705 acres of rich, fertile land at the southern end of Lake Winnebago.

In French, Fond du Lac is interpreted to mean “bottom or foot of the lake".   Only after regular mail service was established did this area at the bottom of Lake Winnebago really begin to grow.  Missing out at being named the Capitol of the state of Wisconsin by a single vote, Fond du Lac grew to almost 4000 citizens by the mid-1850’s.  By 1860, a railroad – that later became the Chicago & Northwestern – began to deliver to Chicago, Illinois, goods from Lake Winnebago and the Fond du Lac area.

The rest is the richness of history.  The rails from Chicago and the lure of pleasure boating on Lake Winnebago brought increasing numbers of people to Fond du Lac – today home to just under 45,000 residents, but also many vacationers at all times of the year.  They come to share in the history, the arts, the parks, the boating and fishing, the gardens, the trails, the dining and shopping, and just as often to share in the numerous wintertime activities as well.

“Fond du Lac has entered the new century and the new millennium respectful of its past and with confidence in its people and its strengths.”
 

 

 

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