Manawa, Wisconsin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Manawa is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,330 at the 2000 census.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Manawa is located at 44°27′38″N, 88°55′9″W (44.460563, -88.919253)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 km² (1.8 mi²). 4.3 km² (1.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (6.18%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,330 people, 530 households, and 324 families residing in the city. The population density was 307.5/km² (796.7/mi²). There were 570 housing units at an average density of 131.8/km² (341.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.10% White, 0.08% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.08% Asian, and 0.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 530 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,500, and the median income for a family was $52,656. Males had a median income of $34,886 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,886. About 5.6% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

The city of Manawa grew up south of the sawmill built on the Little Wolf River in 1871 by J.M. and Harley Rounds and Robert Pugmire. The river was bridged in three places here by the 1880s, making Manawa a focus of all traffic through the township. The timbered bridge at the sawmill was replaced with a steel truss bridge in 1902. About a mile downstream, the railroad crossed the river on a plate girder bridge. And barely a half-mile below the railroad trestle, the lower bridge, originally built of lumber, was replaced by a three-arch stone bridge in 1902.

The city was cradled in the lower crook of the reverse-S made by the river, and was platted — the streets of the city laid out — in three distinct parts. A northern part in sixteen blocks was drawn just south of the sawmill, and became the central business district through most of the town's life. A central sliver of just barely eight blocks, a mix of businesses and residences, lay on the south side of the railroad. And to the south, a square of twenty blocks was laid out around the river crossing about a half-mile below the railroad. Although this was the largest part of Manawa to be platted, and appeared to be laid out as the civic center of the city, complete with a town square, it fell into decline, and only in more modern times has begun to grow again.

For a short time after the post office opened in 1872, under the postmaster Elbert Scott, the city was known as Elberton. The name Manawa was formally adopted in 1874. According to local folklore, "Manawa" means "Long Bow," and was the name of a Native American who was killed in a duel near the lower river crossing.

Manawa was only very sparsely settled before 1860. Before that, most people who lived in the town clustered in the area known as Little Wolf, Wisconsin.