De Pere occupies about 9 square miles in Brown County, Wisconsin, USA, just south of Green Bay on the Fox River.

De Pere is pronounced "d'peer".

In 1634, the French explorer Jean Nicolet was the first white man to come to this area.

In 1671, a group of French Jesuit Priests, led by Father Claude Allouez, established a mission here. They named it after the rough waters of the Fox River, calling it "Les Rapides des Pères", "the rapids of the fathers."

De Pere was formed as a village in 1857, and then incorporated as a city in 1883.

West De Pere was formed as a village in 1870. In 1883, the name was changed to Nicolet and it was incorporated as a city. The name was changed back to West De Pere in 1887.

In 1890, the cities of De Pere and West De Pere merged; though we remain as the only city in Wisconsin to have two separate public school systems.

The population of De Pere at the 2000 census was 20,559. DePere.com estimates our population today to be 22,931.

De Pere has seven public schools, each serving various grades from kindergarten through 8th, including one county-run school which handles children with special needs. We also have three Catholic elementary-level schools, and two public high schools.

De Pere is the home of St. Norbert College, a Catholic Liberal Arts and Sciences school, founded by Abbot Bernard Pennings and the Norbertine community.

Over a dozen churches in De Pere serve residents of many faiths.

In 1952, U.S. Congress recognized De Pere as a "No. 1 U.S. Small City", for its 99.7% voter turnout in the presidential election (Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected that year).

In 1972, Terry Anne Meeuwsen of De Pere was crowned "Miss America 1973" at Atlantic City, NJ. Terry is co-host of the 700 Club.

In April 2004, Sam Dunlop (21) was the youngest person ever elected to the De Pere City Council. He was also the first St. Norbert College student (a junior) ever elected to the council. Dunlop beat incumbent Richard Peters in 2004 by 24 votes.