Fire at Mishicott Destroyed 13 Buildings in 1883
The Louis Levenhagen meat market (left) and Mueller & Halberg wagon shop (right) were rebuilt of brick after the 1883 fire at Mishicott.
Undated photo courtesy Mishicot Historical Museum
On Sunday evening, October 7, 1883, news reached Manitowoc that a destructive fire had raged that afternoon in Mishicott, and that the western end of the downtown on both sides of Water Street (now E. Main) had been wiped out. The fire started in the smokehouse of Louis Levenhagen, who was rendering lard at his butcher shop. The overheated lard cooked over the side of the kettle and fell into the fire. The building was soon on fire. The intense flames spread rapidly and sparks, fanned by a brisk wind, caused his residence and other buildings nearby and across the street to catch on fire.
The village fire bell was rung and the hand engine was manned, but proved unequal to the task of fighting the fire. Fred Quistorf was dispatched on horseback to ask for assistance from the Two Rivers Fire Department - a trip made in 22 minutes over a distance of eight miles. He rode his own horse as far as the Half-Way House on Mishicott Road, then exchanged it for a fresh animal he found hitched to a post. The fire department’s steamer pulled by a six horse team made the trip in 50 minutes with relays of fresh horses along the way.
On October 9, 1883, The Manitowoc County Chronicle reported “The arrival of the steamer was hailed with delight by the people of Mishicott as it insured them against any further spread of the fire and gave needed rest to those who, for upwards of three hours, had been battling with the flames. In about two hours after the arrival of the steamer the fire was all put out.”
By the time the fire was placed under control and stopped, the butcher shop and smokehouse, the tavern next door, a wagon shop, blacksmith shop and barn all burned down. Across the street from the butcher shop, a grocery store, dry goods store, tavern and three houses burned to the ground. The only building still standing was a brick house near the tavern and dance hall.
Thirteen buildings were destroyed. The loss was estimated at from $15,000 to $18,000 with one-third of it or about $6,000 covered by insurance. Mr. Levenhagen’s loss reached about $3,000.
On October 16, 1883, The Lake Shore Times reported some properties had already been sold and purchased and rebuilding was underway. The regular correspondent of Mishicott news stated, “let us give just and due credit to the firemen of our sister town of Two Rivers, who nobly responded to our call and did very effective work when they reached here.”
The fire-damaged area at Mishicott soon rose from the ashes and life quickly returned to normal. By the end of October, Louis Levenhagen had a group of men at work on his new residence and butcher shop, wood-framed with brick veneer. Other new brick buildings were also constructed. Most of the stores and shops resumed operations. By early December of 1883, Mishicott citizens had met and organized a hook and ladder company to provide additional fire protection in the village.
