The Knights of Columbus Marquette Council 588 serves three Roman Catholic parishes in Sussex County, NJ: Our Lady of the Lake; St Thomas of Aquin; and Immaculate Conception. The Marquette Council was chartered on June 1, 1901 and became the nation's five hundredth and eighty eighth council of the Knights of Columbus. Father Marquette, a member of the Jesuit Order, was born in France in 1637, and came to the New World to teach Christianity to the Indians and to explore the new country. He settled in Canada and worked with the Indian tribes setting up missions and exploring much of the region around the Great Lakes. He died in Canada in 1675. The Council was "First" headquartered in Franklin Furnace, NJ and has used various locations in Sussex County during its long and successful history. It is currently headquartered in McKenna Hall in Sparta, NJ. During 1987, the First Degree team was certified and in early 1989 the Second Degree team was certified. The degree teams have been extremely active ever since and also hold institutional degrees for newly started councils. The Marquette Council works closely with three Parishes in Sussex County; Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta, St. Thomas in Ogdensburg and Immaculate Conception in Franklin. On February 7, 1988, the Marquette Columbiettes were chartered and in June 1989 the first Squires Circle 3734 was chartered.
