Bay Settlement is one of the oldest settlements in Wisconsin, as only Green Bay, De Pere, and Prairie du Chien are older. The settlement had a population of eight people in 1830. The community is home to Holy Cross Church, one of the oldest Catholic congregations in the county, which succeeded a mission established at Bay Settlement in 1834. In 1868, a post office opened in Bay Settlement.^[2]

Although settlers from eastern states began to move to the Bay Settlement vicinity during the late 1830s and the 1840s, the area remained sparsely settled until the two decades following 1850. The increasing tide of immigrants into Wisconsin from the East and from Europe reached the peninsula in mid-century.^[3]

During the 1850s and 1860s, all the lands surrounding Bay Settlement were occupied, and the hamlet emerged as a focal point for institutional and commercial services. The original French-Indians and later American settlers were joined by Belgians, Dutch, Germans, and a few Irish, thus mixing the population in nationality and language.^[4]