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'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.

Contents

Geography

History

Demographics

Industry

Media

Area Activities

Trivia

Retail

Restaurants

Schools

References

External links

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

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]
Manistee is going through some hard times currently. Manistee lost three key people and three key businesses in its history in a six month span.
Key people died:

★ Monsignor Gerard Guzikowski, November 22, 2006, age 88, old age, pastor at Guardian Angels Catholic Church for many years, Manistee Catholic Central Schools closed for his funeral, only one of the three people to die in Manistee (the other two died in Traverse City)

★ Bill Wittig, December 26, 2006, age 89, old age, columnist for the News-Advocate for many years

★ Mike Bauman, February 1, 2007, age 53, officially stroke, owned the 440 West restaurant for many years, some schools in Manistee closed for his funeral
Key businesses closed:

★ 440 West, February 1, 2007, re-opened June 30, 2007 as Boat House Grill

★ Big Boy, April 7, 2007

★ City Drug, May 29, 2007, bought out by Rite-Aid

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

Manistee is the home of three factories on Lake Manistee; Packaging Corporation of America, Morton Salt, and Martin Marietta.

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.

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.^[1] 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.

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.^[2]

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

References

1. Guinness World Records - Human Body - Extreme Bodies - Tallest Man
2. Wal-Mart to cancel Manistee purchase agreement over environmental concerns McRay, Vanessa

External links

★ Manistee Official Site

★ Eyewitness account of the Manistee fire

★ Historic Ramsdell Theater Homepage

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