Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Independent City or Town
- Metro Area
- Politics c. 1860?
- Don’t Know
- Unions, Organized Labor?
- Don’t Know
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Possible
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Surely Not
Census Information
| Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 5450 | 19 | ||||||
| 1870 | 12764 | 179 | ||||||
| 1880 | 13094 | 178 | ||||||
| 1890 | 12024 | 112 | ||||||
| 1900 | 15110 | 136 | ||||||
| 1910 | 18797 | 47 | ||||||
| 1920 | 23427 | 50 | ||||||
| 1930 | 26499 | 16 | ||||||
| 1940 | 27209 | 5 | ||||||
| 1950 | 29936 | 16 | ||||||
| 1960 | 32719 | 15 | ||||||
| 1970 | 35150 | 12 | ||||||
| 1980 | 35863 | 32 | ||||||
| 1990 | 37757 | 112 | ||||||
| 2000 | ||||||||
| 2010 | 43021 | 1464 | ||||||
| 2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Unknown
Main Ethnic Group(s)
- Unknown
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
Testimony of a resident:
“The group that originally came to FDL was about 75 people, but a group also went to Fox Lake, Dodge Co., WI. That is the county directly to our south. The two groups intermarried and some removed to northern WIS to Price county where one of them became county sheriff.
I really cannot give you a specific reason for their demise in FDL. It was a combination of prejudice and not being able to get good jobs, I think. I have lived in FDL all my life and people here have never had the occasion to know black people and therefore are afraid to talk to them and stare at them like little children. When I was growing up, 40s, 50s, there was one black family in FDL and the father worked at Sears. There are a number of black families now moving in and of course the majority of the population does not like that at all.
The KKK had a little to do with them leaving as there was a very large group made up of people from Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.
Conversation with the resident:
My question: why did the black population of so many WI towns decline drastically beginning around 1890 or thereafter? In Fond du Lac, for example, 178 blacks in 1880 decline to 112 in 1890, 47 in 1910, 16 i 1930, and just 5 in 1940. Why?
Green Bay shows a similar decline, beginning in 1910, from 45 down to 10 in 1940.
Appleton never had many but fell from 18 in 1900 to 0 by 1930.
Meanwhile, the white populations of these towns increase, so it’s unlikely that “lack of jobs” is the cause.
I have several possible theories and would like your insights. 1. “Natural” decline. These towns are, after all, far from black population centers in the South, are cold, are isolated. Problem: they are no further north in 1930 than they had been in say 1890. Also, if the population grew from a tiny base, such as Fond du Lac’s 19 in 1860 to 179 by 1870, why then could it not grow from the larger base of 178 in 1890. Instead, it shrinks.
2. Labor unions. These were exceedingly racist around 1900 and may have gotten more power, thus shutting blacks out of employment on the railroad, in the mines, or in lumbering.
3. Social shunning. We know that the period 1890 1925 or so is the “nadir of race relations” in the U.S. (See my book, LIES MY TEACHER TOLD ME, 161 67.) During these years whites in the North (and South, of course) segregated blacks, perhaps removing them from normal social intercourse, such as church associations or simple friendship. Coupled with their never large numbers, that might have influenced blacks to seek larger cities.
4. Violent expulsion or convincing blacks non violently that they should leave. In many Illinois towns, whites expelled blacks violently or more quietly convinced them to leave, then passed formal ordinances or reached informal understandings that the community or neighborhood would be “all white.” (I put “all white” in quotes because some “all white” towns actually allowed a black family or two to stay in them, while decidedly UNwelcoming any black newcomers.)
I lean toward #4 because of my knowledge of similar things happening in Illinois (and in Edina, MN), but I have no evidence for it, and #2 or #3 are certainly possible. What do you think? (Maybe your paper covers this?)
(I think the problem is: there is no oral history on this in the black community, since they went down to nearly 0 0 in the case of Appleton too small to maintain an oral tradition. And there is no oral history on this in the white community, since it is not problematic to them. That is, there is no reason to “explain” the absence of blacks in FDL or Appleton, because all other nearby towns are the same. Residents of all white or almost all white Illinois towns, in contrast, have something to “explain” to themselves, so they kept alive when and why blacks left. Or at least some old timers did. Since towns rarely write anything “bad” about themselves in their local histories, oral history is crucial.)
You went on to say some interesting things about FDL, including:
“There are a number of black families now moving in and of course the majority of the population does not like that at all.”
Can you give me examples of such? How do you know that? (I’m not challenging your statement but merely requesting an anecdote or comment or two, complete with date approximate year will do so I have a sense of what your knowledge is based on.)
You then wrote: “The KKK had a little to do with them leaving as there was a very large group made up of people from Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.” When? back in the 1920s? or the “newer” Klan of the 1960s?
Did you get any reaction, from blacks or whites, from the publication of your essay?
I will try to answer a few of your questions…with my opinion of course, as there is no proof of any theory regarding the demise of the black population
in FDL.
In 1860 when FDL had 19 blacks, I rather doubt if many were contrabands. A minister by the name of Rev. Rogers brought “a carload” (railroad) of 75
from Cairo, Illinois and arranged for them to find work in FDL. He was with
the 14th regiment from FDL and when he became ill he was assigned to Cairo
to oversee the exploding black population there. He taught many to read and write. Those that came to FDL did find farm labor, cooks, maids, etc. but nothing that paid well. Of those coming to FDL, many were mulatto and I
believe that some of them married into the farm population in the area.
There is a small town named Chilton in Calumet county, directly to the north
of FDL County, east side of Lake Winnebago. That small town was founded by a black man and he had a good sized family. They certainly didn’t leave to
find husbands and wives. So I believe that more blacks/mulattos than people
realize faded into the white population through marriage, although I need to
do a great deal of research to prove this.
Between FDL and Oshkosh, 18 miles to the north of us on the west side of Lake Winnebago, a very large KKK was formed in the early 1900s. We had what was termed a “Klanvocation” in Fond du Lac at our fairgrounds and the
newspapers claimed that the parade was 5,000 strong. I don’t know if I
believe that or not. I think that the KKK was instrumental in driving the
blacks away rather than the labor unions. We didn’t have that much
industry, other than the lumber yards and Rueping Leather. I do not know
when their labor unions came into being.
They had their own church here, but the first land sold to them was in a
swamp and the second was sold out from under them by one of their own, who
left without a forwarding address. I am assuming he was paid off, as the
church and land was sold back to the daughters of the original owner for
$1.00.
When the KKK was active, a number of crosses were burned at the areas where the blacks lived within FDL city.
And oh, yes, FDL is definitely a town that wanted to be “ALL WHITE”…no
doubt about it. The early newspapers are full of bigotry and disgusting
remarks about black people that lived in the area.
No there is no oral history, although I know that a grand daughter (90 years young) of one of FDL contrabands now lives in Milwaukee. I have made contact with the Black Museum in Milwaukee, and I believe that the director may take me to interview her.
Examples of the current population not accepting the blacks moving in? There is a group of young people…call themselves “Skinheads.” Every chance they can, they disrupt the blacks to the point where shades are kept down all day and all night in every room where the black people live. Last
summer a young man, a skinhead, drove his truck through a family of black
people that were fishing on the river. Luckily no one was hurt or even hit
by the truck. The judge fined him, gave him a little jail time and demanded
that the Confederate flag be taken off his truck. One of our Middle Schools
has a lot of trouble with gang signs, etc. Mostly racial problems, and with
a large Hmong population, it gets a little heated at times.
The KKK group that I am talking about was here 1905 1915 or 1920. At least from the newspaper accounts that I have found.
No, I haven’t had much of a reaction except that most people in FDL, who are tremendously history illiterate regarding this area, didn’t know that we had a black church or a large population of blacks in FDL. They were totally
surprised. I have not really mentioned that a number of them married into
the white population…saving that for my book. My son said I will probably
be tarred and feathered…from the little research I have completed…a lot
more to go…I have found that the black church really wanted to fit into
the area whites, by having church socials, debates, pig roasts, bake sales, etc. and their functions were attended by some of the white population.
They also married into the Brothertown Indian tribe. The Brothertowns do not have tribal status as they sold all of their land, so they are in the process of petitioning Washington DC to regain that….
“Fond du Lac: Fox Lake community members work on railroad, 1870s-1890s.” If so, then if whites got blacks thrown off railroad work, that could have ended the community.
“A census of the Michigan Territory taken in 1835, including WI, shows 91 Aafrican Americans listed,” including 27 slaves. By 1860, 1171 bl. in WI. By 1870, 2113.
Rev. J. B. Rogers, Baptist minister from FDL, was chaplain of 14th WI Volunteers during CWar, became ill, was reassigned “to Cairo, IL, to gather clothing, seed, and farm implements for the poor blacks who had migerated to the area. The kindly minister was instrumental in bringing a group of former slaves to the FDL area.” He taught them in Cairo, found they learned quickly, taught >400.
October, 1862: “As a great crowd of people congregated at the train depot, a ‘car-load’ of ex-slaves arrived at the FDL depot, chaperoned by Rev. Rogers. Word had spread throughout the area that anyone who wanted to ‘engage a contraband’ or to help in any way should be at the depot. After the excitement had died down, local women served the weary travelers a welcome meal. They were then given rooms at the American Hotel until they could be hired out.” [What a welcome for blacks! Compare now! or 1900!] Rev. Rogers died in 1863.
“The newspaper article that described the ex-slaves’ arrival stated that, while the black arrivals were ‘timid,’ they should not be alarmed at the ways of the North. The author also made it clear that this wass a temporary situation, intended to alst only until their masters were subdued.” At the time FDL had a population of 8090.
Then 75 more came, a few days later, from AL. “Within a week, all but 20 of the former slaves had found employment …”
Blacks ended up living near each other near W 12th St. in FDL. Built church.
Blacks [in earlier censuses] “married to whites were listed in the 1920 census as white.” Others may have married into the Brothertown and Stockbridge Indian tribes.
“Membership in the Klan in FDL was over 1,000, acc. to the head…” Might be an exaggerated #. April, 1924, six crosses were burned on the streets of FDL, in “areas where the black population of the city lived.” Etc. 5000 KKK paraded July 4, 1926. Then flaming cross at tent grounds.
[Sally Albertz, “Fond du Lac’s Black Community and Their Church, 1865-1943,” in Clarence B. Davis, Source of the Lake (Fond du Lac, WI: Action Printing, 2002)]
Testimony of a resident:
In your example of Fond du Lac there are a couple of possible explanations. First FdL contains the Brotherton Indians who variously described themselves as Indians/Native Americans, blacks, and whites. FdL was also the site of a large railway yard operated by the Chicago & Northwestern which employed numbers of African Americans. When the yard closed the blacks moved away. Out migration from cities with small black populations like Fox Lake, an adjacent community, to FdL was compounded when blacks continued to migrate to Milwaukee and Detroit among others. I am not sure if that is the complete explanation for FdL but it does indicate the problems in this project of yours.”