Manawa, Wisconsin
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Manawa is a city located in Waupaca County, Wisconsin. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 1,330.
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Geography
WIMap-doton-Manawa.png
Location of Manawa, Wisconsin
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 is water. The total area is 6.18% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 1,330 people, 530 households, and 324 families residing in the city. The population density is 307.5/km² (796.7/mi²). There are 570 housing units at an average density of 131.8/km² (341.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 99.10% White, 0.08% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 530 households out of which 30.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% are married couples living together, 7.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% are non-families. 34.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 19.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.41 and the average family size is 3.16.
In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $34,500, and the median income for a family is $52,656. Males have a median income of $34,886 versus $22,969 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,886. 9.8% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 12.8% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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 1880's, 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 township clustered in the village of Little Wolf, Wisconsin.