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History · Manitowish Waters

1 of Manitowish Waters’ places is on the National Register

Most of Manitowish Waters was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1955 on.

1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Manitowish Waters’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Manitowish Waters are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Voss' Birchwood Lodge takes in 22 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manitowish Waters’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manitowish Waters’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the National Register

1 listing protects 22 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
22
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Voss' Birchwood Lodge
Voss' Birchwood Lodge
Districts
All 1 listings
Voss' Birchwood LodgeDistrict · listed 2018

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Manitowish Waters came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manitowish Waters.

Read it all →

In 1934, at the Little Bohemia Lodge on Little Star Lake, the FBI and Dillinger Gang were involved in a shootout, which resulted in the accidental shooting death of one local Civilian Conservation Corps worker and severely injuring two other workers by federal agents who mistook them for members of the gang. Agent W. Carter Baum was also shot and killed by Baby Face Nelson in a brief gunfight a short distance away, which resulted in another special agent and a local constable being wounded. All six members of the gang escaped the incident unharmed.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Manitowish Waters, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Manitowoc Waters Wisconsin Looking North County W2012Manitowoc Waters Wisconsin Looking North County WManitowish Waters Wisconsin Town Hall and Community Center2012Manitowish Waters Wisconsin Town Hall and Community C…Manitowish Waters Airport2012Manitowish Waters AirportGreetings from Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin - Large Letter Postcard2010Greetings from Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin - Large L…DocumentManitowish Waters, WI2008Manitowish Waters, WIManitowish Waters gift shop2008Manitowish Waters gift shop
On the map

Manitowish Waters on the map, 1955 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manitowish Waters. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Manitowish Waters on the 1955 USGS mapManitowish Waters on the 1981 USGS map1955Winchester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Manitowish Waters.

Famous people

Famous people close to Manitowish Waters

Nobody well known was born in Manitowish Waters itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Renee EllmersFormer U.S. Representative from North Carolina · b. 1964
Gerald J. BoileauAmerican politician · b. 1900
Raymond Joseph CannonPolitician, lawyer, baseball pitcher · b. 1894
Robert W. AschenbrenerAmerican World War II flying ace · b. 1920
William C. Gribble, Jr.United States general · b. 1917
B
Bobby JurasinPlayer of American and Canadian football · b. 1964
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Boulder JunctionIts storyC−WinchesterIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLac du Flambeau1 historic placeC+MercerIts storyCSherman1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Manitowish Waters’ history

What is on the National Register in Manitowish Waters?

One place: the Voss' Birchwood Lodge (listed 2018).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.