Manitowoc City Map Poster

About Manitowoc

The city's sister city is Kamogawa, Japan. Manitowoc was founded in 1835 by Lewis D. Campbell and John Jones. It was incorporated as a village on March 6, 1850 and as a city on April 19, 1871 with an area of . The name is derived from the Anishinaabe language word "manidoowaak" (meaning spirit-wood), which refers to the tree of that name ("Acer saccharum"). In 2010, Manitowoc had the highest jobless rate in Wisconsin at 9%. The first permanent settlement began in 1834 when Luman Shipherd located south of present-day downtown at Green Bay Road and Washington Street along Lake Michigan; he built his home there after arriving from New York state via Cleveland aboard a schooner named "Thames". His son Jayme soon convinced him to move their home northwards upriver where they established themselves near what would become North 10th Street between West Scott Avenue (formerly East Main) and South Webster Place (formerly East Water).