Menasha

History

The Menominee people inhabited the Fox River Valley for over 10,000 years. Ancestors of the Ho-Chunk also occupied what is currently Menasha, with a village known as "Menashay" on what is now Doty Island, led by Chief Hootschope (Four Legs). In the 1600s, the Meskwaki established a village just north of Menasha. In 1730, a surprise attack by French soldiers and traders led by Captain Paul Marin resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Meskwaki (Fox) people residing in the area. The bodies were subsequently piled into a mass grave 12 feet high, 60 feet long, and 35 feet wide, known as Butte des Morts ("Hill of the Dead"). Despite the protests of early Wisconsin preservationist Increase A. Lapham—who argued there was "neither necessity nor excuse for its destruction"—the hill was leveled in 1863 to make way for a Chicago and North Western Railway line. The company used the excavated earth as landfill and ballast, with remains reportedly "strewn along the right of way for miles." In 1836, the Menominee ceded approximately 4,000,000 acres of land, including present-day Menasha, to the United States in the Treaty of the Cedars for $700,000 (approximately 17 cents per acre). This opened up land for public sale, and James Duane Doty, a land speculator and politician, was one of the first investors. Doty was known for using aggressive tactics to acquire land and political influence, including offering legislators choice lots in exchange for favorable votes; one of his business partners, Michigan Governor Stevens Mason, described him as "a liar, a calumniator and a swindler." In 1848, Doty and his associates, including Curtis Reed, formed the town of Menasha on the channel north of Doty Island. In 1849, Reed and Doty were successful in convincing the United States government to…

Geography

Menasha is located at (44.2129, −88.4362). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,916
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  13,416
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,356
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  13,123
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  11,561
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,296
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  10,633
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,599

Largest nearby schools

• Neenah High
  High · Neenah · 1,943 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Shattuck Middle
  Middle · Neenah · 978 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Menasha High
  High · Menasha · 966 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Maplewood Middle
  Middle · Menasha · 725 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Horace Mann Middle
  Middle · Neenah · 519 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Clovis Grove Elementary
  Elementary · Menasha · 482 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Lakeview Elementary
  Elementary · Neenah · 405 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Tullar Elementary
  Elementary · Neenah · 392 students · 16.3:1 ratio