Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Home History of the Old Third Ward History of the Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Protest in the Form of Art Old Third Ward Neighborhood Association Documents Newsletters Streets (includes buildings) How Old Are the Homes in the Old Third Ward? Ghost Buildings Neighborhood Features People Houses on the National Register of Historic Places Acknowledgements

---

Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau City of Appleton Historic Hearthstone House Museum History Museum at the Castle Fox Valley Genealogical Society (FVGS) Outagamie County WIGenWeb Appleton Historical Society

Contact the Old Third Ward

Adam Mertes

---

Adam Mertes and his family arrived in Appleton in the late 1840's and were the first German Catholics. They welcomed worshipers into their home for mass before the first Catholic church (St. Mary's Catholic Church) was established. Adam served on committees to plan for the building of St. Joseph's Catholic church and established the church cemetery. "As honest as Adam Mertes" became a common expression used by nineteenth century Appletonians to describe a person of undoubted integrity. Adam Mertes built the large Italianate home at 601-603 S. Walnut St. in 1871.