Crivitz

Sister cities

• Crivitz

History

Crivitz was surveyed and platted in the summer of 1883. This work was filed with the Register of Deeds in Marinette County on September 10, 1883, by German immigrant Frederick John Bartels, who named the settlement after his home town of Crivitz, Germany. The demographic character of the Crivitz area was shaped significantly after a typhoid epidemic in 1894, which shut down the sawmills. Hieronymus Zech (1849–1932), a mill operator from Chilton, took over operation of the inactive mills and promoted land sales to Polish immigrants, many of whom relocated from Milwaukee and Chicago. Zech built stores, houses, schools, and roads for the Polish colony. As a result, the local population today is predominantly Polish-American. Crivitz was a town until 1913, when it was incorporated as the Village of Crivitz. The village hall, originally located at 600 Main Avenue, was later relocated at 800 Main Avenue. The downtown developed along Main Avenue in the 600 to 900 blocks from 1913 to 1924. In 1924 a devastating fire destroyed 22 buildings along the south side of Main Avenue. In 1927, the village was disincorporated and became the Town of Crivitz. The fire, disincorporation, and the start of the Great Depression in 1929 sealed the fate of Crivitz for many years. A ski hill called Winterset was developed in Crivitz in 1961. In 1974 Crivitz was once again incorporated as the Village of Crivitz, with the Village Hall at 800 Henriette Avenue. This was quickly followed by improvements in the water-sewer system, electrical system, and highway-transportation system. The village currently operates under its 1974 incorporation with a Village President (executive), a Board of Trustees (legislative), and a Municipal Judge (judicial). Village operations are carried out by the Public…

Geography

Crivitz is located at (45.233915, -88.006955). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  611
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  605
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  569
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  543
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  475
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  466
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  463
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  424

Largest nearby schools

• Crivitz Elementary
  Elementary · Crivitz · 468 students · 16.1:1 ratio
• Crivitz High
  High · Crivitz · 219 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Crivitz Middle
  Middle · Crivitz · 104 students · 14.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2024-01-07
  3 km NE of Mole Lake, Wisconsin