Father Menard Monument

The Father Menard Monument north of Merrill commemorates Père René Menard, a French Jesuit missionary known as “Wisconsin’s first priest” who disappeared in the Wisconsin wilderness in 1661. Born in Paris in 1605, Menard came to New France as a missionary and eventually traveled into what is now Wisconsin to minister to Huron refugees. In July 1661, he set out toward a Huron settlement near the headwaters of the Black River. During the journey, Menard became separated from his companions while portaging and was never seen again. His fate and exact burial place remain unknown.

The monument was erected in 1923 by Merrill Council 1133 of the Knights of Columbus with assistance from the Wisconsin State Council. Its inscription identifies Menard as a missionary who was “lost hereabouts” in July 1661 while traveling to baptize Indigenous refugees. The exact location of his disappearance has long been debated. Historical research has placed it somewhere along the Rib River near the Taylor-Lincoln County line, east of present-day Goodrich, making the monument a tangible marker of one of the earliest European missionary journeys through northern Wisconsin. For anyone interested in Wisconsin history, early exploration, Indigenous-European encounters, or the state’s more obscure historical landmarks, the Father Menard Monument offers a direct connection to a centuries-old mystery.