St. Nazianz was organized in 1854 as a religious colony by a group of German immigrants, led by Father Ambrose Oschwald, a Roman Catholic priest.

The first settlers in the Oschwald group numbered 113 and came to the United States from the Black Forest of Baden, Germany, seeking religious freedom.

[7] Oschwald and his group sailed for America on the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1854, on two separate ships.

They took a boat from Milwaukee to Manitowoc, the county seat, then headed west by oxcart, getting as far as the place where Valders now stands.

Oschwald followed on September 1 with more men, and the group began working to clear the land and build log houses.

[7] Settlers began going by the name "The Association" and agreed to share everything in common and work without pay.

Oschwald died on February 27, 1873, and was buried under the altar at the old St. Ambrose Church at the Loreto Monastery.

The Salvatorian priests and brothers came to St. Nazianz in 1896, 15 years after the Society of the Divine Savior was founded by Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan in Italy.

Shortly before noon on May 12, 2000, St. Nazianz and surrounding communities were hit by a severe storm that caused major damage.

The storm was initially considered a tornado but was later declared a "thunderstorm super cell moist microburst" by meteorologists.

[9] Residents who were in St. Nazianz as the storm hit said that it went from noon light to midnight darkness in a matter of seconds.

The storm roughly followed U.S. Route 151, with St. Nazianz and Chilton receiving the worst of the damage, caused largely by wind and hail.

The total damage caused by this storm to St. Nazianz and surrounding areas was estimated at $122 million.