History

Recorded history of the Town of Scott began with the landing of Jean Nicolet at what is now called Red Banks in 1634. A French explorer, Nicolet was the first white man to explore the Great Lakes Region west of Quebec, Canada. His mission was to expand the fur trade, convert Native Americans to Christianity and find passage to the Far East.

Fur trading was the only activity conducted by Europeans until 1670 when Father Claude Allouez established the St. Francis Xavier Mission, One year later, however, Indian disturbances forced him to relocated the Mission in De Pere.

The British dominated the area from 1763 to 1816. The first American explorers came to the area in 1816. Twenty years later, the first American settlers arrived at what is now known as Bay Settlement. Two prominent names were John Campbell and Robert Gibson.

The next settlers to arrive were immigrants from Bavaria, Germany. This group settled the community of New Franken. Many of the original names can still be found today such as Gibson, Jacobs, Schauer, Burkart, Lang, Sohler, Schoerger, Schott, Schmitt, Van Lanen and Vanlieshout. Political and religious strife in Belgium prompted a group of Belgian farmers to immigrate to the Green Bay area in 1853.

The Town of Scott was originally part of the Town of Green Bay. In November, 1859, the Brown County Board of Supervisors voted to divide the Town of Green Bay into smaller townships. The name "Scott" was favored by Robert Gibson, an early settler of Scottish descent. On April 1, 1860, the Town officials were elected.

The Town has copies of the book, "A Glimpse from the Past, a History of the Town of Scott " for $10.00