The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word first applied to the principal river of the county.[6] The derivation is not certain,[7] but it may be from ministigweyaa, "river with islands at its mouth".[8][9] Other sources claim that it was an Ojibwe term meaning "spirit of the woods".[10]
In 1751, a Jesuit mission was established in Manistee.[11] Missionaries visited Manistee in the early 19th century, and a Jesuit mission house is known to have been located on the northwest shore of Manistee Lake in 1826. In 1832, a group of traders from Massachusetts built a log house up the Manistee River. However, they were soon driven off by the Odawa nation. The first white settlement and sawmill was built there in 1841.[11]
In 1830 the village of Manistee was one of about 15 Odawa (Ottawa) villages along the shore of Lake Michigan. Much of the Manistee River Valley, including Manistee itself, was designated as an Odawa Reservation from 1836 to 1848.[12]
The first permanent Euro-American settlement was made on April 16, 1841, when John Stronach and his son, Adam Stronach, arrived at the mouth of the Manistee River in a schooner loaded with fifteen men and equipment, and established a sawmill.[13]
From 1836 to 1848, much of the Manistee River Valley, including Manistee itself, was an Ottawa Reservation. During the lumbering era of the late 1800s, Manistee became a significant site for lumber mills. Huge numbers of white pine logs were floated down the river to the port at Manistee and eventually on to the lumber markets of Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Chicago.
In 1846, the town was named "Manistee"; it was made part of Ottawa County, whose county offices were 100 miles (160 km) away at Grand Haven. After a series of new counties were organized, by 1855 Manistee was part of a large Manistee County that also included modern-day Wexford and Missaukee counties.[14]Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell, Manistee's first lawyer, moved there in 1860 and remained there until his death. Ramsdell owned the first hardware store in the city, and was responsible for the construction of a bridge across the Manistee River.[15]
In 2000, Manistee made national headlines after a local jury convicted a woman for expressing to her mother near a Hispanic family in a restaurant her wish that immigrants would learn English; the judge described it as "insulting conduct" consisting of "fighting words", an offense that was punishable under a local ordinance. Allegations appeared of improper procedure and irregularities in the court records. Two years later (November 1, 2002) and after the defendant spent four nights in jail, the conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals.[18][19][20][21]
Geography
Manistee is in southwestern Manistee County in northern Michigan, bordered to the west by Lake Michigan and to the east by Manistee Lake. The Manistee River connects the two lakes, cutting through the middle of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, Manistee has a total area of 4.53 square miles (11.73 km2), of which 3.28 square miles (8.50 km2) are land and 1.25 square miles (3.24 km2), or 27.6%, are water.[1] Neighboring and nearby communities include Parkdale to the northeast, Eastlake to the east, and Filer City, Oak Hill, and Stronach to the southeast. The townships that border Manistee are Filer to the south, Stronach to the southeast, and Manistee to the east and northeast.
U.S. Route 31 passes through the center of Manistee as Cypress Street. The highway leads northeast 60 miles (97 km) to Traverse City and south 25 miles (40 km) to the outskirts of Ludington. M-55 intersects US 31 in Parkdale, just east of Manistee, and leads east 47 miles (76 km) to Cadillac.
As of the census[27] of 2010, there were 6,226 people, 2,816 households, and 1,614 families residing in the city. The population as of 2013 is 6117. The population density was 1,892.4 inhabitants per square mile (730.7/km2). There were 3,599 housing units at an average density of 1,093.9 per square mile (422.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.5% White, 0.5% African American, 3.8% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population.
There were 2,816 households, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.1% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.7% were non-families. 36.4% 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 2.18 and the average family size was 2.82.
The median age in the city was 43.6 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 to 44; 30.1% were from 45 to 64; and 18% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
2000 census
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 6,586 people, 2,912 households, and 1,729 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,023.7 inhabitants per square mile (781.4/km2). There were 3,426 housing units at an average density of 1,052.7 per square mile (406.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White, 0.3% African American, 1.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, nil% Pacific Islander, 1.0% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.2% 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 age distribution of the population shows 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 its heyday, Manistee was home to a booming logging industry.
In the late 19th century, Manistee was one of the leading shingle manufacturing cities in the world, with over 30 shingle mills on the Manistee river at one time. During the lumber boom of the 1880s, Manistee was the headquarters of its own railroad, the Manistee and North-Eastern, and had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the United States.[28]
Manistee is also associated with the salt industry. Manistee is now the home of three factories on Lake Manistee; Packaging Corporation of America, Morton Salt, and Martin Marietta. For this reason, Manistee is known as the "Salt City".[29] The town is also a local favorite for tourism and fishing.
Media
Manistee is home to a radio station, WMTE-FM (101.5), and was previously home to the now-defunct WMTE (1340 AM). The Ludington Daily News,Manistee News Advocate and Traverse City Record-Eagle cover the Manistee area and distribute daily newspapers in the city.
Formerly distributing newspapers in Manistee included the Bear Lake Beacon, the Copemish Courier, the Manistee Advocate, the Manistee Daily Advocate (which became the Manistee News Advocate), the Manistee Daily News, the Manistee Democrat, and the Onekama Lake Breeze.
Orchard Beach State Park is approximately 2 miles north of Manistee.
Little River Casino Resort is approximately 5 miles northeast of Manistee.
Manistee National Golf Resort is approximately 2 miles south of Manistee.
Manistee Golf and Country Club was established in 1901 and is located within the city of Manistee.
There are three public beaches, Fifth Avenue Beach with the small man-made lake next to Fifth Avenue Beach and First Street Beach, located respectively north and south of the harbor entrance on the shore of Lake Michigan.[32]
Local events and attractions
Manistee has museums, an opera house, and recurring events.[33] These include:
Manistee has a historic downtown with many original buildings from the Victorian era. The entire Downtown District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are a good variety of retail stores in Manistee, many of which are locally owned and operated.
^History of Manistee County Michigan; With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Men and Pioneers. H.R. Page & Co., Chicago. 1882. Retrieved 6 April 2016. In 1846 it was attached to Ottawa County, and the county offices were at Grand Haven, and there was also the nearest justice of the peace. Matrimony, in those days,was a serious matter, and attended with no little trouble. There was no one nearer than Grand Haven or Milwaukee authorized to speak the magic words so charming to the ear, and a trip of ninety miles by canoe, or on foot, was an excursion of considerable magnitude. In 1851 the county was attached to Oceana, county seat at Middlesex, and in 1853 attached to Grand Traverse, to which it remained attached until the Spring of 1855, when it was organized and raised to the honorable dignity of local sovereignty. Prior to 1855, Manistee, Wexford and Missaukee Counties comprised one township, or rather, they were embraced in the township organization of Manistee town.
^"Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell". Cyclopedia of Michigan. New York City: Western Publishing and Engraving Company. 1890. pp. 218–219.
^"Station: Manistee 3SE, MI". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
