Flambeau Trail Manitowish
Iron County Heritage Area
By the turn of the century, the “inexhaustible” stands of white pine had been cut from northern Wisconsin and floated to sawmills down waterways like the Manitowish River.
Lumberman William Henry Roddis was one of the first to recognize the value of the areas untouched virgin stands of hardwood timber. But hardwood timber, unlike pine, did not float. It could not be “driven” downriver to mills.
Roddis pioneered the use of railroads to transport logs rather than rivers. By 1903, his “Roddis Line” logging railroad was a growing network of mainline track and spur routes that connected logging camps deep in the forest to lumber mills.
Roddis established a logging mill here that operated through the mid-1930s and established Manitowish as a shipping point for timber.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.
Location. 46° 7.943′ N, 90° 0.763′ W. Marker is in Manitowish, Wisconsin, in Iron County. It is at the intersection of Manitowish Road and
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Wisconsin’s Copper Country and on the North Shore. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Flambeau Trail The Mercer Depot (approx. 3.4 miles away); Flambeau Trail Turtle Portage (approx. 3½ miles away); The Rest Lake Dam Story (approx. 6.1 miles away); River Rats & Peavey Men (approx. 6.1 miles away); 1934 Spider Lake Raid on the John Dillinger Gang (approx. 6.6 miles away); Flambeau Trail Two Ways to Go (approx. 7.2 miles away); Roddis Line Lake of the Falls (approx. 7.2 miles away); Pinery Road - The Legend (approx. 7.9 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 1, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 619 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on August 4, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 1, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
