Germania, Marquette County, Wisconsin

Germania, Wisconsin
Unincorporated community
Germania, Wisconsin Show map of Wisconsin Germania, Wisconsin Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 43°53′26″N89°15′25″W / 43.89056°N 89.25694°W / 43.89056; -89.25694
Country	United States
State	Wisconsin
County	Marquette
Elevation	791 ft (241 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Postal code	54960
Area code	920
GNIS feature ID	1565491 [1]

Germania is an unincorporated community located in the town of Shields, Marquette County, Wisconsin, United States. ^[1]

History

The land which would become Germania was ceded by the indigenous Menominee to the American government in 1848, and it was opened for settlement in 1849. ^[2]

The Germania Colony was founded in 1860 by followers of Benjamin Hall, a Massachusetts businessman and preacher inspired by William Miller's teachings. Hall, from Groton, Massachusetts, had left the Groton Congregational Church due to his abolitionist views in 1839. ^[3] In the 1840s, a group of Millerites under Hall's leadership, who called themselves "The Community", founded a commune in Groton and prepared for the Second Coming. Nearby to The Community in Groton were several other similar communes: Fruitlands, Brook Farm, and Hopedale, as well as Shakers. Following the Great Disappointment in 1844, Hall's followers continued to believe in the imminent return of Jesus; they lived communally and advocated against slavery and exploitation of workers. ^[4] In 1857, Hall married Henrietta Peirce, a prominent member of The Community who owned land in Germania. ^[5] Desiring physical separation from society, they migrated west and established a new commune on Peirce's land. ^[6]

Benjamin Hall bought more land in Germania and established the "Germania Company", which came to be called "The Colony". ^[7] The Community built a large central building (the "Big House") for worship and to house unmarried community members, as well as a school, roads, and farmsteads. They worshipped together daily, but did not seek new members or align with any other Christian group. A more formal church was built in 1875, probably served by an itinerant preacher. ^[5] Hall died in 1879, and the commune declined, but existed into the 1890s. ^{[4] [8]}

Notable people

• Clarence V. Peirce, state senator and dairy farmer, was the son of Henrietta Peirce Hall and was raised in The Community ^{[9] [10]}

References

1. "Germania, Wisconsin". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. Sands 1999 , p. 12
3. Sands 1999 , p. 9
4. "When the Rapture Failed in 1844: A Disappointment that Created a Community". Wisconsin Historical Society. August 3, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
5. "Tour Site Information". Germania Historical Society. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
6. Sands 1999 , pp. 12–13
7. Sands 1999 , p. 15
8. Sands 1999 , p. 18: "The Community lasted from its founding in Groton in the 1840's well into the 1890's, and The Community was home to three generations. In the history of American communes, this record is almost unheard of."
9. "Biographical Sketch of Clarence V. Peirce". Wisconsin Blue Book . 1897. p. 661.
10. Sands 1999 , p. 25

Bibliography

• Sands, Peggy (1999). "Till the End of Time: Awaiting the Millennium in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 83 (1): 3–30.

Further reading

• Stephan, Karen H.; Stephan, G. Edward (1973). "Religion and the Survival of Utopian Communities". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion . 12 (1): 89–100. doi:10.2307/1384957. JSTOR   1384957.
• "Utopians in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Historical Society. August 3, 2012.
• "Looking Backward: Germania, Wisconsin". Montello Express. January 23, 1931.