Fond du Lac, Wisconsin | |
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Nickname(s): Fondy | |
Location within the state of Wisconsin. |
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Coordinates: 43°46′N 88°27′W / 43.767°N 88.450°WCoordinates: 43°46′N 88°27′W / 43.767°N 88.450°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Wisconsin |
County | Fond du Lac |
Incorporated | 1847 (as a village), 1852 (as a city) |
Area | |
• City | 20.11 sq mi (52.08 km2) |
• Land | 18.82 sq mi (48.74 km2) |
• Water | 1.29 sq mi (3.34 km2) 6.41% |
Elevation | 760 ft (232 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• City | 43,021 |
• Estimate (2012) | 43,045 |
• Density | 2,285.9/sq mi (882.6/km2) |
• Metro | 100,070 |
Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
Area code(s) | 920 |
Website | www |
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for Bottom of the Lake, named as such because of its location at the bottom (south end) of Lake Winnebago. The population was 43,021 at the 2010 census.
The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Fond du Lac County (2000 population: 97,296). Fond du Lac is the 342nd largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. The Fond du Lac MSA and the Beaver Dam (city), Wisconsin Micropolitan Statistical Area, form the larger Fond du Lac-Beaver Dam Combined Statistical Area. The current City Council President is Lee Ann Lorrigan.
Native American tribes, primarily the Winnebagos but also the Potawatomi, Kickapoo, and Mascoutin lived or gathered in the area long before European explorers arrived. Although the identity of the first white man to explore the southern end of Lake Winnebago is uncertain, it was probably Claude-Jean Allouez, followed by French fur trappers.
James Doty, a federal judge for the western part of the Michigan Territory, thought the land at the foot of Lake Winnebago might be a good location for a city, so he and his partners bought land in the area. In 1836, during the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, John Arndt proposed making Fond du Lac the new capital. The motion failed, and Doty convinced the legislature to choose Madison instead.