Champion, Wisconsin

Champion, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
Looking east at downtown Champion
Champion Show map of Wisconsin Champion Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 44°35′21″N 87°47′39″W
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Brown
Town	Green Bay
Elevation	235 m (771 ft)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	920
GNIS feature ID	1562939[1]

Champion is an unincorporated community in the town of Green Bay in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States.[1][2] It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town hall for the town of Green Bay is located in Champion and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion is located just east of Champion.

History

The area was called "Grez-Daems", from 1853 to 1862, named after Belgian Priest Father Daems, who is credited with being the founder of the Belgian Colony in Wisconsin. In 1862, the community became known as "Aux Premiers Belges" (The First Belgians). The same area was also known as Robinsonville, after Charles D. Robinson, editor of the Green Bay Advocate, an early newspaper started in 1846. The name Robinsonville was given prominence by Adele Brice’s apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858.[3][4][5]

When the post office moved to the store and tavern of Mr. Delvaux to be more centrally located, Delvaux he didn’t want the office named after him. The suggestion of Champion was from Sister Adele Brise because it was the name of a little village near Namur in Belgium where she had planned to join the convent in sisterhood before her parents immigrated to the United States.[6]

Images

• 
  Belgian settlement monument at Green Bay town hall
• 
  Looking east at Champion's sign
• 
  Town hall for the town of Green Bay in Champion
• 
  National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion near Champion

Notable people

• Grégoire Dupont, legislator[7]
• Peter Pernin, Catholic pastor (1868-9) and Peshtigo fire memoirist

References

1. "Champion, Wisconsin". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Champion, Wisconsin
3. Blair, Margot. "Peshtigo Fire - 2 Miracles". www.rosaryworkshop.com. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
4. "The Miracle Hunter: Marian Apparitions: Robinsonville, WI USA 1859". Marian Apparitions. 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
5. "Visions of Mary - Door County Pulse". Door County Pulse. September 18, 2014. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
6. St. Joseph Catholic Parish, Champion Wisconsin 1862-2012 by Robert DuBois. p2
7. "A Prosperous Season: Progress of the Green Bay Dairy Board of Trade". Green Bay Press-Gazette. January 4, 1890. Retrieved September 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

44°35′21″N 87°47′39″W