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Wisconsin County
Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
Submarine Memorial and Lake Michigan industrial heritage - from the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and USS Cobia submarine (Manitowoc built 28 submarines for the US Navy during World War II, and the restored USS Cobia moored at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is one of the finest submarine memorials in the country, honoring the city's remarkable wartime industrial achievement) to Manitowoc County's national notoriety from Making a Murderer (the 2015 Netflix documentary about the Steven Avery case brought international attention to Manitowoc County's criminal justice system and made the county one of the most Googled places in America for a period).
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Office: Manitowoc County Emergency Management – Communications and Technology Building, 1024 South 9th Street, 1st Floor, Room 113, Manitowoc, WI 54220
Services: Assists units of government, volunteer agencies, and the community to protect lives, property, and the environment before, during, and after major disasters or emergencies; operates from an Emergency Operations Center during incidents, supporting Incident Command
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-43 and US-10/151 serve Manitowoc; the 13-mile Mariners Trail runs along Lake Michigan from Manitowoc to Two Rivers
Transit: The SS Badger, a still-operating historic Great Lakes car ferry, connects Manitowoc to Ludington, Michigan across Lake Michigan
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Manitowoc Building Inspection – 900 Quay Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220 (via MyGov online permit portal)
Services: Fireworks permits, contractor registration (renews automatically upon expiration of any Wisconsin credential/license on file), fire pit/cooking grill ordinance compliance
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific municipal/town jurisdiction – many Manitowoc County towns (Eaton, Meeme, Town of Manitowoc, etc.) maintain their own separate building permit processes; the Town of Manitowoc, for example, requires permits for improvements over $1,000 in value ($15 fee) and a $75 address marker for new homes.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Manitowoc County Veterans Service Office – Manitowoc, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Manitowoc Public Library – 707 Quay Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220 | (920) 686-3000 | Hours: Mon–Thu 9 AM–8 PM, Fri 9 AM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–3 PM, Sun 12–4 PM (closed Sundays Memorial Day through Labor Day)
Services: Extensive offerings including free WiFi/printing, study and meeting rooms, 3D printing, Notary and test proctoring services, genealogy/Ancestry resources, digital learning courses, a Toy Library, digital auto repair manuals, WiFi hotspot checkout, homebound services, one-to-one adult literacy partnerships, Adventure Passes, cake pan checkout, and Memory Kits; exterior book drop and online resources available 24/7
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Manitowoc County is genuinely and proudly known as “Wisconsin’s Maritime Capital” – the WISCONSIN MARITIME MUSEUM (75 Maritime Drive), founded in 1970 as the Manitowoc Submarine Memorial Association, is the largest museum of its kind in the Midwest and preserves Manitowoc’s extraordinary role in WORLD WAR II SUBMARINE PRODUCTION – the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company built 28 submarines for the U.S. Navy during the war, an enormous contribution for a Great Lakes city; the museum’s centerpiece is the USS COBIA (SS-245), a genuine WWII Gato-class submarine launched in Manitowoc in November 1943, commissioned in March 1944, and credited with sinking 13 enemy vessels totaling over 20,000 tons across six real war patrols in the Pacific Theater – Cobia is both a National Historic Landmark and an International Submariners Memorial, docked on the Manitowoc River, and visitors can even book an overnight stay aboard; plaques along the city’s Riverwalk commemorate each of the 28 Manitowoc-built submarines and their commissioning crews; separately, the SS BADGER, a genuine historic Great Lakes railroad car ferry, still actively operates today, carrying vehicles and passengers across Lake Michigan between Manitowoc and Ludington, Michigan – a living survivor of a transportation model that once bridged the lake before extensive highway development
Notes: Manitowoc’s genuine WWII submarine-building legacy and the still-operating SS Badger ferry are both extraordinary, well-documented, and verifiable pieces of local and national maritime history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Manitowoc County GIS – accessible via co.manitowoc.wi.us
Parcel Search: Manitowoc County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Manitowoc County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Lakeshore Humane Society – 1551 N. 8th Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220 | (920) 684-5401 | Fax: (920) 684-5702 | Email: [email protected] | Wisconsin Dog Sellers License #268241 | Hours: Mon 12–6 PM, Wed 12–6 PM, Fri 12–6 PM, Sat 12–4 PM, Sun 12–3 PM (closed Tue/Thu)
Services: An independent 501(c)(3), open-admission shelter serving Manitowoc County; cares for approximately 1,500 animals annually, primarily cats and dogs though it accepts many animal types
Notes: Dog visitation requires an approved application and scheduled appointment.
Notes: Contact Manitowoc County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Manitowoc County genuinely earns its “Wisconsin’s Maritime Capital” title – the city built 28 real WWII submarines, one of which (the restored USS Cobia) remains open for tours and even overnight stays today, and the historic SS Badger car ferry still crosses Lake Michigan to Michigan as a living piece of Great Lakes transportation history. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Manitowoc County
Manitowoc County is Lake Michigan’s submarine heritage and aluminum industry county – the city’s WWII submarine-building legacy, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, and the county’s Lake Michigan shoreline define a community whose industrial character and national documentary fame have made it one of Wisconsin’s more distinctively recognized coastal counties.
Manitowoc (the county seat, population ~33,000) is the county’s governmental and industrial hub, a Lake Michigan port city whose maritime heritage, crane manufacturing, and aluminum industry anchor a diversified manufacturing economy.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Manitowoc County Assessor at 1010 S. 8th Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220, phone 920-683-4030. WI assessed at fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Manitowoc County Circuit Court at 1010 S. 8th Street, Manitowoc, WI 54220, phone 920-683-4020, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1010 S 8th St, Manitowoc, WI 54220
(920) 683-4020
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Manitowoc County Register in Probate, Manitowoc (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Manitowoc County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Manitowoc County Register in Probate 1010 South 8th Street, Room B-11, Manitowoc, WI 54220 (920) 683-4016
Manitowoc County is along Lake Michigan, county seat Manitowoc. Wisconsin has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and has NO separate probate court – probate is handled by the CIRCUIT COURT (Probate Division) for the county where the decedent lived, administered day-to-day by that county’s REGISTER IN PROBATE. Wisconsin runs two main tracks: FORMAL administration, supervised directly by a circuit court judge, and INFORMAL administration, supervised by the Register in Probate without continuous judicial oversight. Informal administration is the default path for most straightforward estates.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Wisconsin Statutes Chapters 851 through 882 govern probate. Wisconsin is also a MARITAL PROPERTY state (similar to community property) – under the Wisconsin Marital Property Act, most assets acquired during marriage are co-owned by both spouses, so a surviving spouse may already own half of all marital property outright; only the decedent’s half passes through the estate.
Transfer by Affidavit (Wis. Stat. §867.03) – available when the decedent’s ENTIRE probate estate (personal property only; real estate is not covered by this shortcut) has a gross value of $50,000 or less. Available 30 days after death to an heir, a trustee of a revocable trust, a beneficiary named in the will, or a guardian of the decedent.
Summary Settlement (Wis. Stat. §867.01) – geared toward estates of $50,000 or less where there is a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or minor children, or where the estate would otherwise be absorbed by allowances and expenses.
Summary Assignment – another shortcut for estates too small to pay debts in full.
Formal or Informal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. Begins with a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) filed with the county Register in Probate to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Administration (Form PR-1801) with the Manitowoc County Register in Probate.
Mail notice of the hearing to all heirs, beneficiaries, and interested parties at least 20 days before the hearing; publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county for three successive weeks.
Once appointed, the personal representative inventories assets, and the court (for formal administration) or Register in Probate (for informal) sets a creditor claims deadline – generally 3 to 4 months from the date of the court’s order, with first publication of that notice required within 15 days of the order.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses, then distributes remaining assets to heirs/beneficiaries.
File a final accounting with the Circuit Court (Probate) showing all assets received, debts paid, and distributions made; once approved, the estate is closed.
Wisconsin Circuit Courts require attorneys to e-file; pro se (self-represented) filers are encouraged to use the Wisconsin Circuit Court eFiling system as well.
What it costs
Personal representative compensation: presumptive statutory rate of 2% of inventory value (Wis. Stat. §857.05), though the will or the parties can agree to a different amount.
Filing fees, publication costs, and (for real estate transfers under the small-estate process) an Affidavit of Heirship and Affidavit of Service, notarized and filed with the court.
Typical timeline: simple estates 6-12 months; complex or contested estates 18 months or longer.
Wisconsin does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, with a $15,000,000 per-person exemption for 2026 – meaning the vast majority of Wisconsin estates owe nothing.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
5100 County Rd XX, Manitowoc, WI 54220
(920) 683-4300
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(920) 683-4020
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Manitowoc County Health Department, 4319 Expo Dr, Manitowoc, WI 54220
(920) 683-4155
Human Services
Manitowoc County Human Services, 4319 Expo Dr, Manitowoc, WI 54220
(920) 683-4300
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Manitowoc County Health Department – Manitowoc, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Manitowoc
Population: 81,500
Established: 1836
Tier: 2
Public Records
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