The Green Bay Diocese's History in Allouez

Allouez does not have what one would consider a downtown area, but the corner of St. Joseph Street and South Webster Avenue is a busy one. An interesting aspect of this piece of the village is that all of the land between just south of Beaupre Street and St. Joseph was once known as the Saint Joseph Orphanage Asylum.

The original lots in Allouez were plotted out by the French. Relatively narrow, they extended from the Fox River all the way east to the Devil’s, or East River, as it is now known. The lots were laid out in this fashion so that each property owner had access to transportation. They were called Private Claims and numbered in ascending order from north to south. The land that became known as the St. Joseph Orphanage Asylum property was Private Claim 14 and consisted of about 130 acres.

The acreage was purchased in 1887 and the orphanage was completed in 1896. It was built on the high ground overlooking Riverside Drive and the Fox River. The site of the orphanage is now a parking lot for diocesan employees and visitors. The School Sisters of Notre Dame staffed the facility and looked after the children. By 1897, 170 children were living there and in 1902 a south wing was added to the main building to accommodate the arrival of more orphans.

In 1911, a portion of this land was granted to the diocese to build a chancery, or diocesan office, for Bishop Joseph John Fox. Bishop Fox had been in Marinette prior to being named Bishop and became friends with the lumberman Isaac Stephenson. Though Stephenson was not a Catholic, he funded the building of the chancery. When the building was dedicated, Stephenson sailed to Green Bay in his yacht. He left the yacht in Green Bay for the use of the Bishop and took the train back to Marinette. This building was located at 1910 South Webster Avenue between US Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. An architectural review, conducted in 2005, found that the 94 year old building needed extensive renovations if it were to remain a safe working environment. It was determined that it was not worthy of being renovated and it was razed in 2010. The property is currently on the market.

Additional construction around the orphanage took place in the 1920’s. Melania Hall was built in 1923 and provided a boiler system, laundry, and manual training shops. It was named after Sister Melania, the first Sister Superior of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Melania Hall is now used as office space for the diocese. In 1929, Nazareth Hall was built to provide a special place to care for infants and young children. Nazareth Hall is now known as Bosco Hall and this building became the chancery when the building on Webster Avenue was deemed unsafe.

The year 1953 brought the construction of two new buildings. There were concerns about the children’s health and safety in the main orphanage building and a new dormitory was built in 1953. The dormitory, now known as Bona Hall, underwent extensive renovations after the orphanage closed in 1977 and is now home to the Diocesan Education Department. St Joseph Chapel was also built that year.

By 1967 the orphanage had become St. Joseph Home for Children and was only accepting boys who suffered from various types of adjustment problems. In 1977 the home merged with the Sisters of Christian Charity and moved to a site in west Green Bay. The orphanage was torn down in 1981.

Other than the four diocesan buildings, the orphanage property on the west side of Webster Avenue looks much the same as it did when the land was purchased over 120 years ago. The area that was the orphanage’s front yard holds the remains of an apple orchard and usually a few geese. The property east of Webster Avenue that was part of the St. Joseph Orphanage Asylum tract was sold off over the years. It now houses a strip mall, Bellin Psychiatric Clinic and the Bishop’s Court Assisted Living Communities by Hillcrest.

The story of this prominent part of the community is an example of why Allouez is such an interesting place to live. Our society has changed much since the foundation for the orphanage was laid, but this piece of property reminds us of how precious our children are to us.