Here you will find the date of establishment of names and boundaries of the towns in Manitowoc County. I have put them in the order in which they were set off as towns.
Towns are different than townships, but the terms are often used interchangeably. To aid you in understanding the terminology used in these descriptions, I have put together a page explaining Land and Deed Terminology.
The first column of dates given is the date on which the County Board of Supervisors officially granted the petition or adopted the resolution. The town typically was not represented on the board until the following year.
The years in the second column of dates lists the years changes were made to the town boundaries. Clicking on any date will give you the description of the change and a map of how Manitowoc County looked after the change (in progress). Map of Current Towns and Villages in the county.
Village and Individual City Histories can be found here.
NAME Date of Establishment Years Changes Made
Manitowoc County
Created....................Dec. 7, 1836
Conroe.........................Jan. 2, 1838
Conroe Renamed to Manitowoc....Mar. 3, 1839
Manitowoc Town Divided
Two Rivers.....................Jan. 9, 1849................1850,1852,1853,1859,1861
Manitowoc......................Jan. 9, 1849................1850,1893/96
Manitowoc Rapids...............Jan. 9, 1849................1850A,1850B
Meeme..........................Jan. 9, 1849................1855
Annex of Part of Brown County
to Manitowoc..............Feb. 9, 1850
Manitowoc Bus Station est......Apr. ... 1928...............From Manitowoc Herald News
Newton.........................Feb. 18, 1850...............1851,1857,1893/96
Centerville....................Feb. 18, 1850
Maple Grove....................Sept. 16, 1850..............1851,1855,1856
Kossuth.........................Nov. 12, 1851..............1852
Eaton...........................Nov. 14, 1851..............1856,1857,1860,1867,1869
Eaton renamed to Walders...........................1853
Walders renamed to Eaton...........................1854
Mishicott.......................Nov. 18, 1852..............1853, 1858
Mishicott renamed to Saxonburg.....................1853
Saxonburg renamed to Mishicott.....................1853
Schleswig (orig. Abel)..........Nov. 16, 1855
Abel renamed to Schleswig..............................1856
Franklin........................Nov. 19, 1855..............1857
Cooperstown.....................Nov. 12, 1856
Rockland........................Nov. 14, 1856..............1857,1860,1867,1869
Liberty (orig. Buchanan)........Nov. 16, 1857
Buchanan renamed to Liberty........................1861
Cato............................Nov. 17, 1857
Gibson..........................Nov. 11, 1858
Two Creeks (orig. Rowley).......July 13, 1859
Rowley renamed to Two Creeks.......................1861
Manitowoc County Created....................Dec. 7, 1836 Conroe.........................Jan. 2, 1838 Conroe Renamed to Manitowoc....Mar. 3, 1839 Manitowoc Town Divided Two Rivers.....................Jan. 9, 1849................1850,1852,1853,1859,1861 Manitowoc......................Jan. 9, 1849................1850,1893/96 Manitowoc Rapids...............Jan. 9, 1849................1850A,1850B Meeme..........................Jan. 9, 1849................1855 Annex of Part of Brown County to Manitowoc..............Feb. 9, 1850 Manitowoc Bus Station est......Apr. ... 1928...............From Manitowoc Herald News Newton.........................Feb. 18, 1850...............1851,1857,1893/96 Centerville....................Feb. 18, 1850 Maple Grove....................Sept. 16, 1850..............1851,1855,1856 Kossuth.........................Nov. 12, 1851..............1852 Eaton...........................Nov. 14, 1851..............1856,1857,1860,1867,1869 Eaton renamed to Walders...........................1853 Walders renamed to Eaton...........................1854 Mishicott.......................Nov. 18, 1852..............1853, 1858 Mishicott renamed to Saxonburg.....................1853 Saxonburg renamed to Mishicott.....................1853 Schleswig (orig. Abel)..........Nov. 16, 1855 Abel renamed to Schleswig..............................1856 Franklin........................Nov. 19, 1855..............1857 Cooperstown.....................Nov. 12, 1856 Rockland........................Nov. 14, 1856..............1857,1860,1867,1869 Liberty (orig. Buchanan)........Nov. 16, 1857 Buchanan renamed to Liberty........................1861 Cato............................Nov. 17, 1857 Gibson..........................Nov. 11, 1858 Two Creeks (orig. Rowley).......July 13, 1859 Rowley renamed to Two Creeks.......................1861