 thumb|right|250px|rural oconto county in fall oconto county is a county in the u.s. state of wisconsin. as of the 2010 census, the population was 37,660. its county seat is oconto. the county was established in 1851.columbia-lippincott gazeteer, (new york:columbia university press, 1952) p. 1364 oconto county is part of the green bay, wi metropolitan statistical area as well as the green bay-shawano, wi combined statistical area. == history == first visited by french explorers in the 17th century, oconto county is among the oldest settlements in wisconsin. father claude-jean allouez of the roman catholic jesuit order said the first mass in oconto. among the first settlers was joseph tourtilott, who explored much of the oconto river watershed. many of tourtilott's descendants continue to reside in oconto county, which has the highest percentage of residents with french ancestry in wisconsin. ==geography== according to the u.s. census bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (13.1%) is water. ===adjacent counties=== *marinette county - northeast *brown county - south *shawano county - southwest *menominee county - west *langlade county - west *forest county - northwest ===major highways=== *20px u.s. highway 41 *20px u.s. highway 141 *20px [[highway 22 (wiscon
1851_establishments_in_the_United_States Green_Bay_metropolitan_area Oconto_County,_Wisconsin Wisconsin_counties