River waterfront in downtown Manistee
Manistee is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan.
As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,586. It is the
county seat of Manistee
County6.
Manistee Township is located to the northeast of the city, but is
politically separate. The city is located at the mouth of the Manistee River on
Lake Michigan.
Manistee is served by Manistee County-Blacker Airport, approximately
three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the city.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 11.3 km² (4.3 mi²). 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is
land and 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (25.29%) is water.
History
Missionaries visited the site of Manistee in the early 1800s, and a jesuit mission house is known to have been located on the
NW shore of Lake Manistee in 1826. In 1832, a group of traders from Massachusetts built a log house up the Manistee River, but
were soon driven off by the Indians. The first permanent settlement was made on 16 April 1841, when John Stronach and his brother
Joseph Stronach arrived at the mouth of the Manistee River in a schooner loaded with equipment to
establish a saw mill and carrying fifteen men.
On October 8, 1871, the town was practically destroyed by
fire; on the same day the Peshtigo Fire, the Great Chicago Fire, and a Holland, Michigan fire
occurred.[1]
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000,
there were 6,586 people, 2,912 households, and 1,729 families residing in the city. The population density was 782.4/km² (2,023.7/mi²). There were 3,426 housing units at an average density
of 407.0/km² (1,052.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.90% White, 0.33% African American, 1.38% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.96% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.20% of the population.
There were 2,912 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were
non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% 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 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from
45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,351, and the median income for a family was $41,816. Males had a median
income of $35,347 versus $20,102 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$16,810. About 6.9% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.
Industry
In it's hayday, Manistee was home to a booming logging industry, and Salt Industry. Now Manistee is the home of three
factories on Lake Manistee; Packaging Corporation of America, Morton Salt, and Martin Marietta, the town is also a local favorite
for tourism and fishing.
Media
Manistee is home to two radio stations, WMTE (1340) and WMTE-FM (101.5). The Ludington Daily News, Manistee News
Advocate and Traverse City Record-Eagle cover the Manistee area and distribute daily newspapers in the city.
Area Activities
- Orchard Beach State Park is approximately 2 miles North of Manistee.
- Little River Casino Resort is approximately 1 mile East of Manistee.
- Manistee National Golf Resort is approximately 2 miles South of Manistee.
Retail
Manistee is known for its historic downtown. There are a good variety of retail stores in Manistee, most of them locally owned
and operated. Oleson's is at the corner of US 31 and Memorial Drive. They are currently remodeling to make the store bigger, and
better for the community. The only "big box" store currently located in Manistee is K-Mart. Walgreens is coming into town. It
will be located across US 31 from K-Mart. Wal-Mart is considering opening a location in Manistee but recently cancelled a
purchase agreement with the city over environmental concerns.[1]
Restaurants
- Big Al's Pizza - located on US-31 in Parkdale, opened in 1973, home of world renown sub sauce.
- Boat House Grill - located on River Street, just opened on June 30, semi-formal, deck.
- Double Deuce Saloon - located on River Street, opened in May, bar atmosphere.
- House of Flavors - located on River Street, opened in April, owned by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.
- River Street Station - located on River Street, standard pub grub, deck.
- Tuscan Grille - located on River Street, Italian food, high capacity, deck.
- Bungalow - located on US-31 at Red Apple Road, former bar, Friday fish fry.
- Captain's Cafe - located on US-31 at Lakeshore Road, very small, just opened in May.
- Rico's - located on M-55 at Olson Road, former bar, Friday fish fry.
Schools
Elementary
- James Madison Elementary (K-3), Manistee Area Public Schools
- John F. Kennedy Elementary (4-5), Manistee Area Public Schools
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary (K-3), Manistee Area Public Schools
- Trinity Lutheran School (K-8), Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod private school
Secondary
- Casman Alternative Academy (7-12), Provides an alternative education for those in Manistee County and surrounding areas.
- Manistee Middle School (6-8), Manistee Area Public Schools
- Manistee High School (9-12), Manistee Area Public Schools, Class B in sports
All grades
- Manistee Catholic Central School (K-12), Roman Catholic private school, Class D, smallest school in Michigan with a football
program
Notable People Associated with Manistee
- Dave Campbell, baseball player and sportscaster
- Byron M. Cutcheon, Civil War veteran, attorney, and postmaster
- Fred Green, Governor of Michigan, 1927-1931
- Edward Kozlowski, Polish-American priest, later Bishop of Milwaukee
- Michael J. Malik, Sr., developer
- Harry W. Musselwhite, politician and newspaper publisher
- Bernie Schroeder, radio broadcaster
- James Earl Jones, actor
- Andrew Haw, pilot
Trivia
- James Earl Jones first began acting at the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee.
- One of Manistee's nicknames is "The Stee".
- Robert Pershing Wadlow, known as the World's Tallest Man in medical history (8 feet,
11.1 inches tall) died at the Coral Gables Hotel in Manistee on 1940-07-15. Wadlow died as the
result of an infected blister on his right ankle, caused by an ill-fitting leg brace.[2] In the 1970's, one of Waldow's shoes was on display at Synder's Shoe store
in downtown Manistee. Employees of the Coral Gables hotel reported that two king-sized beds had to be pushed together to make an
area large enough for Wadlow to sleep. The Hotel was located at the west end of River Street. It was destroyed by fire and
eventually torn down. Today a fountain and park stand in its place.
References
- Shannon McRae, Images of America: Manistee County (2003)
- Curran N. Russell and Dona Degen Baer, The Lumberman's Legacy (1954)
External links
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