The name Manistee comes from the Ojibwa who lived in the region. Some believe it means Spirit of the Woods--and that seems fitting. The abundance of towering white pine trees attracted John Stronach to build the first sawmill in the area in 1841. A thriving lumber town rose up along the river. A fire destroyed much of the town in 1871, and wealthy lumber barons decided to rebuild the town out of brick; those structures still line River Street today. The Manistee streets are quieter now than they were in the town's heyday, but the Victorian charm and over a century of remarkable history remain.