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Wisconsin · Northeast Wisconsin · Green Bay · Peshtigo Fire · Michigan Border
Marinette County, Wisconsin
The forgotten fire that killed more people than the Great Chicago Fire — from Peshtigo, where the October 8, 1871 firestorm killed 1,200-2,400 people (the deadliest wildfire in American history, overshadowed by the same-night Great Chicago Fire) to Marinette's twin-city life with Michigan's Menominee across the river, the Menominee River's waterfalls corridor, and a Northeast Wisconsin county of genuine historical weight.
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Office: Marinette County Emergency Management – Marinette, WI
Services: Coordinates disaster preparedness, response, and recovery; maintains resources on portable/emergency generator safety and sandbag/debris control for flood preparedness
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-41 and WI-64 serve the City of Marinette; the county maintains an extensive network of 750+ miles of snowmobile trails and 200+ miles of ATV/UTV trails
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Marinette County Zoning Department – for projects within 300 ft of a river/stream/floodplain edge or 1,000 ft of a lake/pond/flowage
Services: Overweight/Oversize Permits, Right-of-Way Permits, State Driveway Permits (for connections to STH 64, STH 180, USH 41, USH 141, or USH 8), Utilities Permits – all via the County Highway Department
Notes: Confirm whether your property falls under county or a specific town jurisdiction – many Marinette County towns (e.g., Wausaukee) issue their own separate building permits ($20 fee, plus $30 for a fire number if needed) through the Town Hall, in addition to any required state or county zoning permit.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Marinette County Veterans Service Office – Marinette, WI
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Marinette County Consolidated Public Library Service – SEVEN branches across Coleman, Crivitz, Goodman, Marinette, Niagara, Peshtigo, and Wausaukee
Main Branch: Stephenson Public Library – 1700 Hall Avenue, Marinette, WI 54143 | (715) 732-7570 | Fax: (715) 732-7575 | Email: [email protected]
Services: A member of the South Central Library System (SCLS); annual county park day-passes ($25) can be purchased at any Marinette County Library location
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Marinette County is genuinely and officially branded the “WATERFALL CAPITAL OF WISCONSIN,” home to 15 scenic, largely accessible waterfalls (including Dave’s Falls, Smalley Falls, and Long Slide Falls) concentrated mainly within the county’s own park system, along a 65-mile self-guided Waterfall Route; the county is Wisconsin’s THIRD-LARGEST by geographic area, with over 230,000 acres of county forest (the second-largest county forest in the state), 442 lakes, and roughly 920 miles of rivers and streams; the city of PESHTIGO, within Marinette County, was the site of the genuinely catastrophic PESHTIGO FIRE of October 8, 1871 – the DEADLIEST WILDFIRE IN AMERICAN HISTORY, killing an estimated 1,200-2,500 people and burning approximately 1.2-1.8 million acres across 16-17 towns in northeastern Wisconsin; by tragic coincidence, the fire occurred the very same night as the Great Chicago Fire, which is why Peshtigo remains comparatively unknown despite its far greater death toll; the town was almost entirely destroyed in under two hours, with survivors escaping by wading into the Peshtigo River itself; the Peshtigo Fire Cemetery and the Peshtigo Fire Museum preserve this history today; the city of Marinette itself was named for a historically real woman – half French, half Native American, granddaughter of a chief, and a documented fur trader – and developed as a prime 19th-century logging and fur-trading location at the mouth of Green Bay
Notes: The Peshtigo Fire’s genuine, well-documented status as America’s deadliest wildfire – genuinely overshadowed in national memory only by its unfortunate timing alongside the Chicago Fire – is an extraordinary and historically vital fact for the county.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Marinette County GIS – accessible via marinettecountywi.gov
Parcel Search: Marinette County Land Records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Marinette County Emergency Management
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Menominee Animal Shelter – Menominee, MI (serves both Marinette County, WI and Menominee County, MI, since 1998)
Services: A private nonprofit providing humane care and treatment for animals needing protection across both Marinette and Menominee Counties; works to reunite lost animals with owners, place homeless animals in loving homes, provide humane euthanasia only when necessary, and encourage responsible pet ownership through education
Related: City of Marinette Animal Control – 1905 Hall Avenue, Marinette, WI 54143 | (715) 732-5204, handling in-city animal control matters
Notes: Because Menominee Animal Shelter is physically located across the state line in Menominee, Michigan, confirm current cross-border service arrangements directly.
Notes: Contact Marinette County directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Marinette County genuinely earns its “Waterfall Capital of Wisconsin” title with 15 accessible falls across its vast county forest system, but the county’s Peshtigo also holds a profoundly significant, often-overlooked place in American history as the site of the deadliest wildfire the nation has ever recorded – a tragedy that occurred the same night as the more famous Great Chicago Fire. 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 Marinette County
Heritage | Marinette anchors Marinette County along the Michigan border, once a major 19th-century lumber-boom town giving it the historic nickname “Queen City of the North,” while the county’s extraordinary abundance of waterfalls, more than any other county in Wisconsin, has earned it the moniker “Waterfall Capital of Wisconsin” Outdoors | The county’s numerous waterfalls, including popular Dave’s Falls and Twelvefoot Falls, offer extensive hiking and photography, while the Menominee River and surrounding Peshtigo River provide additional fishing and paddling throughout this scenic northeast Wisconsin county Notable | Marinette County’s status as the “Waterfall Capital of Wisconsin,” with more waterfalls than any other county in the state, gives it extraordinary and unique natural scenic significance Library | Marinette County Library serves the county’s lumber-heritage seat city and surrounding waterfall-rich rural communities near the Michigan border
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wisconsin assessments at the municipal level. The Marinette County Treasurer at 1926 Hall Avenue, Marinette, WI 54143, phone 715-732-7550, coordinates tax billing. Appeal to your local Board of Review. No WI estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Marinette County Probate Court at 1926 Hall Avenue, Marinette, WI 54143, phone 715-732-7500, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1926 Hall Ave, Marinette, WI 54143
(715) 732-7430
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Marinette County Register in Probate, Marinette (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Marinette 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
Marinette County Register in Probate 1926 Hall Avenue, Room A125, Marinette, WI 54143 (715) 732-7475
Marinette County is in Northeast Wisconsin along the Michigan border and Green Bay, county seat Marinette. 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 Marinette 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
1926 Hall Ave, Marinette, WI 54143
(715) 732-7627
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
(715) 732-7430
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
Marinette County Health Department, 2500 Hall Ave, Marinette, WI 54143
(715) 732-7670
Human Services
Marinette County Human Services, 2500 Hall Ave, Marinette, WI 54143
(715) 732-7600
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Marinette County Health Department – Marinette, WI
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Marinette
Population: 40,500
Area: 1,403 mi²
Tier: 3
Public Records
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