Best Web Design in Fond du Lac, WI (2026)

Web Design for Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Set at the southern foot of Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin's largest inland lake, Fond du Lac (French for 'bottom of the lake,' and 'Fondy' to locals) grew from a French fur-trading post into a manufacturing and lake-recreation hub. It is the world headquarters of Mercury Marine, the planet's largest maker of outboard motors, and hosts summer walleye tournaments and lakeside festivals.

AppWT works with Fond du Lac, WI businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Fond du Lac

Also known as. Fondy (common local nickname). The name is French for 'bottom (or foot) of the lake,' for its site at the south end of Lake Winnebago.

History. The site began as a French trading post and was named for its position at the foot of Lake Winnebago. Federal judge James Duane Doty and partners bought and platted the land in the mid-1830s, hoping it might become Wisconsin's capital; Madison was chosen instead. Laid out in 1835 and settled in 1836, it incorporated as a village in 1847 and as a city in 1852, drawing many German immigrants. Lumbering and grain milling were the early industries, powered by lake access. In 1944 the county fairgrounds housed a WWII prisoner-of-war camp holding about 300 German prisoners.

Local economy. Mercury Marine is headquartered in Fond du Lac and is the largest employer, with roughly 2,500 workers, as the world's largest maker of outboard motors. Machine-tool and metal manufacturing includes Giddings & Lewis, Brenner Tank, and Chicago Tube & Iron. Saputo Cheese and the surrounding dairy industry reflect the region's agricultural base. J.F. Ahern (mechanical and fire-protection services) is another major hometown employer.

Culture and community. Walleye Weekend each June pairs a lakeside festival with the Mercury Marine National Walleye Tournament. Fondue Fest, held downtown since 2007, once set a Guinness World Record for the largest fondue. The Fond du Lac County Fair in July is one of Wisconsin's long-running county fairs. The Fond du Lac Dock Spiders, a Northwoods League summer collegiate baseball team formed in 2017, won league titles in 2018 and 2020 at Herr-Baker Field.

What makes Fond du Lac distinct. Fond du Lac native Don Gorske holds the Guinness World Record for most Big Macs eaten, more than 35,000 since 1972, typically one or two nearly every day at the local McDonald's. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick grew up in Fond du Lac, and safety-razor inventor King Camp Gillette was born here. Fond du Lac's Jeanna Giese became, in 2004, the first person known to survive rabies without vaccination, treated by the 'Milwaukee protocol.' The city lost its bid to become Wisconsin's territorial capital to Madison in the 1830s; nearby Ripon, in the same county, is recognized as the birthplace of the Republican Party (1854).

Fond du Lac Landmarks and Local Life

• Lakeside Park - 400-plus acres on Lake Winnebago's south shore, with its iconic white lighthouse observation tower, antique carousel, and miniature train
• Galloway House and Village - an 1847/1880s Victorian mansion with a recreated 19th-century village run by the county historical society
• The Octagon House (1856) - a rare grout-wall octagon home wrapped in local lore of hidden passages
• St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral and the historic downtown.