On May 9, Calumet and Cross installed a new Wisconsin State Historical Marker for the Dick Family Cemetery, a small Brothertown Indian cemetery located off Lake Shore Drive in Brothertown, WI. The Dick Family Cemetery dates back to the 1840s and is still surrounded by its original stone walls. It is one of several planned stops in the “Brothertown Indian Memorial Walk,” a walking tour that will educate visitors about historic sites in the Brothertown Indian Nation’s Wisconsin homelands.
(L to R) Logan Schmitz, Chuck Schneider, Pete Wilson, and Shaun Nadolny beside the newly installed marker
Calumet and Cross board members Shaun Nadolny and Courtney Gerzetich (Brothertown Indian Nation THPO) were on-site for the marker installation, as was Brothertown elder Pete Wilson, who has cared for the cemetery for many years. They received invaluable assistance from Town of Brothertown Chairman Chuck Schneider and road supervisor Logan Schmitz, who provided the equipment and volunteered their time to ensure the installation went smoothly. Also joining to help were Calumet County representatives Alice Connors (Board of Supervisors Chairperson) and Jason Pausma (Economic Development Director). After digging a post hole roughly four feet deep with a skid steer, the team worked together to fill the hole with 600 pounds of concrete (60 pounds at a time!) before finally mounting the marker.
(left) Shaun Nadolny pours the concrete with the help of Jason Pausma, Pete Wilson, and Chuck Schneider
(right) Courtney Gerzetich and Chuck Schneider check that the post is level
The marker was created through the Wisconsin Historical Society’s Historical Markers Program and was funded with generous support from the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region and the Chilton Area Community Foundation. Calumet and Cross would like to thank all the individuals and organizations listed above for making this project possible!
The full text of the marker is below:
(front side)
The Dick Family Cemetery (1840s–1880s)
The Dick Cemetery, the smallest known Brothertown Indian cemetery in Wisconsin, was a private graveyard for the Dick family, descended from the Narragansett. The Brothertown Indians established the first permanent Baptist congregation on the shores of Lake Winnebago in the early 1830s. The Dicks—Christians, like most Brothertown—hosted services for the congregation near this spot. The surrounding stone walls reflect traditional Narragansett stonework in the Northeast, attesting to Native American resilience and the cultural continuity of the Brothertown Indians. The walls also evoke the innovative construction the Brothertown brought to the area. In 1836–37, the Brothertown built a gristmill and a sawmill, two of the earliest mills in Calumet County. In 1844, they also assembled the Manchester, the first steamboat on Lake Winnebago.
(back side)
Stone markers commemorate the following:
Abigail Roberts (1757–1854)
Hannah Potter Dick (1767–1855)
Patience Dick Fowler Seketer (1793–1875)
Laten Dick (1798–1880)
Abigail Fowler Dick (1805–1871)
William Reed (1809–1884), Veteran of the Mexican War
Frances C. Dick Fielding (1835–1854)
Thomas Dean Dick (1839–1867)
Emma S. Dick (1840–1843)
Julian A. Fielding (1854–1855)
The following are also believed to rest here:
Thomas & Deborah Dick (ca. 1754–1835)
Thankful Dick Skeesuck (1805–1850)
Emeline Adams Dick Reed (1810–1872)
John N. Waubey (d. 1841)
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