Manitowish grew at a crossroads of resources, transportation, and people, building its economy on timber and the railroad. By the turn of the century, the once “inexhaustible” white pine stands of northern Wisconsin had been cut and floated down waterways such as the Manitowish River to sawmills, but hardwood timber could not be driven downriver. Lumberman William Henry Roddis recognized the value of the area’s untouched virgin hardwood stands and pioneered the use of railroads instead of rivers to move logs. By 1903, his Roddis Line logging railroad had become a growing network of mainline track and spur routes linking deep-forest logging camps to lumber mills. Roddis also established a logging mill here that operated through the mid-1930’s and made Manitowish a timber shipping point.