Wisconsin Fraternal Lodges

About Fraternal Organizations in Wisconsin

A deep look at the history, oldest lodges, membership process, and notable members of fraternal organizations across Wisconsin.

History of Fraternal Organizations in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's fraternal history is inseparable from its immigrant heritage. The Badger State was settled and reshaped in the second half of the nineteenth century by an extraordinary diversity of European newcomers, German Catholics and Lutherans across most of the state, Polish Catholics in Milwaukee's South Side, Irish Catholics in the southeast and along the Lake Michigan shore, Norwegians and Swedes in the western counties, Belgians on the Door Peninsula, Czechs in Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties, Italians in Kenosha and Hurley, and Cornish miners in the southwestern lead-mining country, and each of those communities brought its own fraternal traditions. By the time of statehood in 1848, Wisconsin already had Masonic lodges in Mineral Point and Milwaukee. After the Civil War, the major American fraternal orders moved in alongside a thicket of ethnic mutual-aid societies.

Milwaukee Elks Lodge No. 46, chartered in 1885, became one of the largest and most influential BPOE lodges in the upper Midwest, while Madison Elks Lodge No. 410 chartered in the late nineteenth century to anchor the state capital. Green Bay, Racine, Kenosha, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, Sheboygan, Oshkosh, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Janesville, Beloit, Manitowoc, and many other Wisconsin cities chartered Elks lodges that remain active today.

The Loyal Order of Moose found enormous support in Wisconsin's manufacturing cities and its rural dairying communities. The Fraternal Order of Eagles arrived shortly after its 1898 founding in Seattle and built a particularly strong network in Wisconsin's industrial cities. The Knights of Columbus exploded across Wisconsin because the state's Catholic population, German, Polish, Irish, Italian, Belgian, Czech, was both large and concentrated in distinct ethnic parishes that supported separate councils. Father James Groppi-era Milwaukee, the dairying parishes of Calumet and Manitowoc counties, the Polish parishes of Stevens Point and Wausau, the Belgian parishes of Door County, all built strong KC councils.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Sons of Norway, the Sons of Hermann, the Polish National Alliance, the Polish Roman Catholic Union, the Czech-Slovak Protective Society, and the various Italian and Hungarian benefit societies built parallel networks. The result is one of the densest and most diverse fraternal landscapes in the United States. Wisconsin lodges retain a particularly strong fish-fry, pancake-breakfast, and brat-fry culture that ties them tightly to their communities and that has helped many lodges weather the national fraternal membership decline better than lodges in less food-centric states.

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Wisconsin

Milwaukee Elks Lodge No. 46, chartered in 1885, is one of the oldest BPOE lodges in the upper Midwest and historically anchored the order's presence in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee lodge has occupied multiple historic clubhouses over the years and remains active today, drawing members from the city's professional, manufacturing, and arts communities. Madison Elks Lodge No.

410, chartered in the late nineteenth century, anchors the state capital. Green Bay Elks Lodge No. 259 has long drawn from the city's paper, manufacturing, and football communities. Racine Elks Lodge No.

252, Kenosha Elks Lodge No. 750, La Crosse Elks Lodge No. 300, Eau Claire Elks Lodge No. 402, Wausau Elks Lodge No.

248, Sheboygan Elks Lodge No. 299, Oshkosh Elks Lodge No. 292, Appleton Elks Lodge No. 337, Fond du Lac Elks Lodge No.

57, Janesville Elks Lodge No. 254, Beloit Elks Lodge No. 864, and Manitowoc Elks Lodge No. 687 anchor the rest of the state.

The Wisconsin State Elks Association funds a Major Project supporting therapy and care for children with disabilities, plus statewide Hoop Shoot competitions, scholarship work through the Elks National Foundation, and substantial veterans' programming at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, the Madison VA Medical Center, and the Tomah VA Medical Center. Wisconsin Elks have a particularly strong tradition of supporting Special Olympics Wisconsin and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Loyal Order of Moose in Wisconsin

The Loyal Order of Moose found broad support in Wisconsin's manufacturing cities and dairy country. Lodges in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine, Kenosha, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, Sheboygan, Oshkosh, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Janesville, Beloit, Manitowoc, Stevens Point, Marshfield, Superior, and dozens of smaller communities have operated for more than a century. Wisconsin Moose membership traditionally drew from the state's machine-tool, paper, brewing, foundry, and dairy-processing industries, and the order's national projects, Mooseheart and Moosehaven, have always received heavy Wisconsin fundraising. The Women of the Moose chapters in Wisconsin run robust youth and educational programming, and Wisconsin Moose lodges remain among the most reliable Friday-night fish-fry venues in their communities, a feature that gives them an unusually strong tie to broader civic life.

Eagles, Knights of Columbus & Other Fraternal Orders in Wisconsin

The Fraternal Order of Eagles spread quickly into Wisconsin after its 1898 Seattle founding. Aeries in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine, Kenosha, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, Sheboygan, Oshkosh, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Stevens Point, and many smaller cities have operated for more than a century. Wisconsin Eagles supported the order's signature legislative legacy, which includes the federal observance of Mother's Day, workers' compensation laws, old-age pensions, and key provisions of Social Security, and Wisconsin's progressive-era political culture aligned naturally with that program. Today the Wisconsin Eagles continue to support diabetes research, children's hospitals, the Jimmy Durante Children's Fund, and disaster relief.

The Knights of Columbus is one of the largest and most active Catholic fraternal organizations in Wisconsin, with more than 30,000 members across roughly 250 councils. Milwaukee Council 524, chartered in 1900, is one of the oldest councils in the upper Midwest. Madison Council 531, Green Bay Council 617, Stevens Point Council 815, Wausau Council 1338, La Crosse Council 839, and Manitowoc Council 727 anchor a state council that consistently ranks among the top in the nation in per-capita charitable giving. Wisconsin Knights run major Tootsie Roll drives, sponsor seminarians, run Coats for Kids drives in winter, and partner closely with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Diocese of Madison, the Diocese of Green Bay, the Diocese of La Crosse, and the Diocese of Superior on parish ministries, refugee resettlement, and Catholic schools fundraising.

The state's strong Catholic ethnic heritage gives Wisconsin Knights a particularly deep historical foundation.

Wisconsin Fraternal Lodges by the Numbers

Wisconsin has approximately 90 active Elks lodges with combined membership around 35,000, around 75 Moose lodges with roughly 45,000 members, around 90 Fraternal Order of Eagles aeries with about 50,000 members, and around 250 Knights of Columbus councils with roughly 30,000 members. Lions Clubs are widely chartered with more than 470 in the state, the largest single-state Lions district in the world by some metrics. Rotary, Kiwanis, and Optimist clubs maintain strong presences in essentially every Wisconsin city. Total Wisconsin fraternal and civic membership is estimated at more than 220,000 once auxiliaries are included.

Density is highest in Milwaukee, Dane, Brown, Outagamie, Racine, and Kenosha counties, with notable concentrations also in the Fox Valley, the Lake Michigan shore, and the dairying counties of central and northern Wisconsin.

How to Join a Fraternal Lodge in Wisconsin

Membership requirements in Wisconsin follow the standard order-by-order pattern. The Elks require U.S. citizenship, age twenty-one, belief in God, and sponsorship by a current Elk. The Moose admit men twenty-one and older with sponsorship.

The Eagles welcome men eighteen and older. The Knights of Columbus is open exclusively to practical Catholic men eighteen and older, and given Wisconsin's dense parish network, joining the Knights is particularly straightforward in this state. Initiation fees and annual dues vary by lodge but commonly run between seventy-five and two hundred dollars. Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis are coed civic clubs admitted by invitation.

Wisconsin's strong fish-fry, brat-fry, and pancake-breakfast culture means that lodges run frequent public events, and visiting one is the most reliable way to start the conversation about joining.

Notable Wisconsin Fraternal Members in History

Wisconsin's fraternal roll runs deep. Senator Robert La Follette Sr., the founder of the Wisconsin Progressive movement, operated within a fraternal milieu that included the Eagles' early legislative campaigns. Senator William Proxmire participated in civic clubs across the state. Governor Tommy Thompson was associated with multiple civic clubs in Madison and Elroy.

Vince Lombardi, although best known for the Green Bay Packers, was a Knight of Columbus and supported the order's charitable work throughout his life. Multiple Packers players have lent their names to Wisconsin Elks Hoop Shoot and Knights of Columbus charity events. Senator Joseph McCarthy was associated with civic clubs in Appleton. Bishop Charles Sklba and the long sequence of Milwaukee archbishops have worked closely with the Wisconsin Knights of Columbus state council.

In the entertainment world, Liberace, who grew up in West Allis, supported civic events in the Milwaukee area, and a long list of Wisconsin musicians, athletes, and politicians have circulated through the state's lodges. The state's deep Catholic and German heritage continues to feed strong fraternal participation.

Frequently Asked Questions: Wisconsin Fraternal Lodges

Sources & Further Reading

• https://www.elks.org/lodges/
• https://www.wielks.org/
• https://www.kofc.org/
• https://www.wikofc.org/
• https://www.mooseintl.org/
• https://www.foe.com/
• https://www.archmil.org/
• https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/
• https://www.lionsclubs.org/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus