Jesuit Missionaries And Apostle Islands

Chequamegon Bay

Chequamegon (pronounced something like “Schwaum-a-gun”) Bay is an inlet of Lake Superior in the extreme northern part of Wisconsin. It is believed to have been the site of the first dwelling occupied by white men in what is now Wisconsin. The word, “Chequamegon,” is an Ojibwa word meaning, “land of shallow waters."

The area is home to the Apostle Islands, remnants of sedimentary rocks deposited in Lake Superior. The islands have survived the crushing actions of four glaciers. There are 22 Apostle Islands (the smallest, Gull, is only three acres) and they were dominated by hemlock, white pine, yellow birch, and white cedar trees. Early Jesuits dubbed them the Apostle Islands.

Link (here)

Photo (here)

Fr. Pierre Fracois Xavier de Charlevoix, S.J. (here) , (here) , (here) and (here)

Fr. Claude-Jean Allouez, S.J. (here) , (here) and (here)