Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. The population was 34,626 at the 2020 census.
History Purported to mean dwelling of the great spirit, Manitowoc derived its name from either the Ojibwe word manidoowaak(wag), meaning spirit-spawn(s), or manidoowaak(oog), meaning spirit-wood(s), or manidoowak(iin), meaning spirit-land(s)."Manitowoc [origin of place name]" in Dictionary of Wisconsin History In the Menominee language, it is called Manetōwak, which means "place of the spirits". The Menominee ceded this land to the United States in the 1836 Treaty of the Cedars, following years of negotiations over how to accommodate the Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Brothertown peoples who had been removed from New York to Wisconsin. In 1838, an act of the Territorial Legislature separated Manitowoc County from Brown County, keeping the native name for the region."Chapter II: The Indians", A History of Manitowoc County, Ralph G. Plumb, 1904."History" , City of Manitowoc site. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
The first Europeans in the area were French fur traders who arrived in 1673. The Northwest Fur Company established a trading post in 1795. In 1835, before the transfer of land from the Menominee Nation to the United States, President Andrew Jackson authorized land sales for the region, drawing the interest of land speculators. William Jones and Louis Fizette were the two first recorded buyers on August 3, 1835, with the majority of the land being procured by the Chicago firm Jones, King, & Co. Benjamin Jones, brother of William, took the Wisconsin property as his share and is considered the founder of Manitowoc. Early immigrant groups included Germans, Norwegians, British, Irish, and Canadians."Chapter III: Early Settlement", A History of Manitowoc County, Ralph G. Plumb, 1904.
The first school in Manitowoc was held in the Jones warehouse, with S. M. Peake instructing the twelve children of the community."Chapter XIII: Education", A History of Manitowoc County, Ralph G. Plumb, 1904. The first religious organization in the county, St. James' Episcopal Church, first met in 1841."Episcopal and Methodist Episcopal Churches", A History of Manitowoc County, Ralph G. Plumb, 1904. Manitowoc was chartered as a village on March 6, 1851 and on March 12, 1870, was incorporated as a city. Manitowoc replaced neighboring Manitowoc Rapids as the county seat of Manitowoc County in 1853. The current Manitowoc County Courthouse was built in the city in 1906.
In 1847, Joseph Edwards built the first schooner in the area, the Citizen, a modest precursor to the shipbuilding industry that produced schooners and clippers used for fishing and trading in the Great Lakes and beyond the St. Lawrence River."Chapter VI: Marine", A History of Manitowoc County, Ralph G. Plumb, 1904. In addition, landing craft, tankers and submarines became the local contributions to U.S. efforts in World War II.
On September 5, 1962, a piece of the seven-ton Sputnik 4 crashed on North 8th Street. Sputnik 4 was a USSR satellite, part of the Sputnik program and a test-flight of the Vostok spacecraft that would be used for the first human spaceflight. It was launched on May 15, 1960.
A bug in the guidance system had pointed the capsule in the wrong direction, so instead of dropping into the atmosphere the satellite moved into a higher orbit. It re-entered the atmosphere on or about September 5, 1962.Sputnik Crashed Here, Manitowoc, Wisconsin A cast was made from the original piece before the Soviets claimed it, and the cast was displayed at the Rahr West Art Museum. A customer in a nearby art gallery jokingly suggested that the city should hold a festival to celebrate the crash. The city held the first Sputnikfest in 2008, which was organized by the head of both museums.
Manitowoc was historically a sundown town that prohibited African Americans from staying overnight. In 1968, the policy forced a visiting Gwendolyn Brooks to stay at Holy Family College, just outside of Manitowoc, after a poetry reading.
Manitowoc is home to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and is one endpoint of the ferry route of the SS Badger, which connects U.S. Route 10 to Ludington, Michigan.
Since the late 1990s, several new shopping centers have opened in the city, mostly on the southwest side of the city along Interstate 43, including the new Harbor Town Center shopping complex. The downtown area has also seen a resurgence, with several new restaurants opening, and the recent announcement of new $100,000+ condominiums on the Manitowoc River, along with a completion of the riverwalk trail.
In December 2022, Manitowoc was designated Wisconsin's World War II Heritage City by the US National Park Service. In early 2023, an 87-unit apartment building south of the Manitowoc River was completed. Also in 2023, Mayor Justin Nickels stated he planned to continue adding amenities along the river. The bulk of the redevelopment in the city has been undertaken by the public/private partnership the Manitowoc County Economic Development Corporation.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
The city is located at , on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River.
The nearest other cities are Green Bay, away, Sheboygan away, Appleton away, and Milwaukee away. Together with Two Rivers and the surrounding towns, the Manitowoc micropolitan area was, according to the 2000 census, home to 52,197 people. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Manitowoc Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Manitowoc County (2000 population: 82,887).
Alverno Alverno is a formerly unincorporated community located in the western parts of the city. Located slightly northwest of the I-43 Technology & Enterprise Business Park, the community contained some homes, a banquet place, and a railroad crossing on the northern side. The community is also the eastern terminus of a short county highway (County Road CS) at the intersection of Alverno Road and Custer Street.
Kellners Corners Kellners Corners is also a formerly unincorporated community on the northwest side of the city at the intersection of Rapids Road (County Road R) and Menasha Avenue. This portion of Manitowoc is more residential with some businesses. Rapids Road was also the old alignment of US Highway 141 in Manitowoc until the completion of I-43 resulted in the portion of the old highway turned over to the county.
Climate Manitowoc has a humid continental climate. Lake Michigan exerts a moderating effect on its climate compared to regions more inland, making temperatures warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than most nearby cities. Manitowoc has a yearly average high of and a yearly average low of . Manitowoc also has an extreme high and extreme low of and , respectively. The city receives an average of of precipitation every year, in the form of rain and snow, with rain being more prevalent in months April–November, and snow being more prevalent in months December–March. Precipitation is spread fairly evenly throughout the year, with the wettest month being August, with of precipitation, and the driest month being February, with of precipitation.
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626 and a population density of . The median age was 42.6 years. 21.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.7% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.2 males age 18 and over.
99.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.6% lived in rural areas.
There were 15,162 households in Manitowoc, of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.6% were married-couple households, 22.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 16,277 housing units at an average density of , of which 6.9% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.6%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 28,722 82.9% Black or African American 818 2.4% American Indian and Alaska Native 245 0.7% Asian 1,718 5.0% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 6 0.0% Some other race 908 2.6% Two or more races 2,209 6.4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 2,507 7.2%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 33,736 people, 14,623 households, and 8,600 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.9% White, 1.0% African American, 0.6% Native American, 4.6% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.0% of the population.
There were 14,623 households, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the city was 41.7 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.2% were from 45 to 64; and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.
2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 34,053 people, 14,235 households, and 8,811 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,018.8 people per square mile (779.4/km2). There were 15,007 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile (343.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.13% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 3.77% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 2.52% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,235 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,203, and the median income for a family was $47,635. Males had a median income of $35,176 versus $22,918 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,954. About 5.0% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Religion The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity have their mother house in Manitowoc. In 2005, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay merged several Catholic parishes in the city into one parish, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, with a four-man pastoral team led by Father Dan Felton. In 2005, the Herald Times Reporter reported that the city has roughly 22,000 Roman Catholics.