Manitowish School

Manitowish School was the first regional school along the Iron and Vilas county boarder. The Chicago Northwestern railroad usher families to the region and pioneer families built a school just three years after the railroad crossed the Manitowish River. Manitowish School quickly became a hub of community activities and place of community pride. As the town of Mercer grew, Manitowish School realized declining enrollment, consolidation became inevitable around World War II.

Travelers can enjoy a limited view of Manitowish School by car, the Mercer Bike Trail, or paddling on the Manitowish River. Property around Manitowish School is private, and travelers can look from Highway 51 or the bike path. Private property should be respected by all travelers.

In the year 1892, G.C. Bardwell the first postmaster appointed from Washington D.C. at Manitowish, Wisconsin. In that same year the Manitowish School was built, and it burned ten years later. In 1908, it was replaced by the building that still remains just off the bike trail and is now a private home. The home still has the look of the original schoolhouse. The first teacher at the school married into the family who owned the land upon which the school resides. In 1919, there were less than twenty students enrolled in school.

Teachers who taught at Manitowish School must have been young unmarried women for the most part as they didn’t seem to teach for very many years.

Miss Lamielle-1897-1998

Miss Elliott-1904

Miss Prideaux-1905

Mable Hawn and Margaret Morris-1910

Phyllis Andrews-1926

Catherine Whithington-1932-1933

Eileen McCauley-1934-1935

Florence Lamont-1935-1936

Jennie Savoldelli-1937

Hazel Wagner-1938-1939

By 1932, Manitowish School was part of District No. 1 Town of Mercer and designated as a rural school while the school in Mercer was designated as a First-Class State Graded School. By 1937, there was considerable consolidation discussion, and it appears it was very hard for the citizens of Manitowish to give up their school.  Mrs. Doriot even stated that school examinations showed that Manitowish School students faired better on these tests. It was voted to remain opened but in the next several years the school would close, and students were sent to Mercer for their education. 

The school was a gathering place for the Manitowish Community and parents would often help the teacher by preparing parties for special occasions during school hours. The parents would also raise money for the school by entertaining community members with card parties at school, the students performed for the community through school presentations, the children would raise money each year for the Red Cross and Easter Seals, and community dances were held as well. 

In the late 1930’s CCC enrollees at Camp Mercer 660 would continue their elementary education through Manitowish School with many earning their eighth-grade diplomas. A WPA project allowed music lessons for fifteen students during the Great Depression. Students under the direction of Gerry Andrews studied piano and performed piano recitals every Friday to show their progress.

Iron County News, Hurley, Wisconsin. July 16, 1937, p.2

Iron County News, Hurley, Wisconsin. April 2, 1926

Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota. June 5, 1892

Iron County Republican, Hurley, Wisconsin. April 2, 1897, p.8

Montreal River Miner and Iron County Republican, Hurley, Wisconsin. March 10, 1905, p.8

Montreal Rive Miner and Iron County Republican, Hurley, Wisconsin. Sept 30, 1910, p. 8

Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan. February 2, 1937, p. 11

Ironwood Daily Globe, Ironwood, Michigan. December 19, 1938, p.2