The Town of Cooperstown lies within the northern portion of Manitowoc County and is one of a few towns within the state that has borders with two counties - Brown and Kewaunee. The town encompasses an area of 36 square miles or 23,040 acres and has two rivers crossing its countryside. The town has two historically developed “Crossroad Communities” and a village (Maribel) within its boundaries. The center of Cooperstown is at the crossroads of CTH Z and Rosecrans Road. Neighboring communities include the Towns Franklin (Kewaunee County), Gibson, Kossuth, Franklin (Manitowoc County) and New Denmark and Morrison (Brown County). In 1856, the town of Cooperstown was established being one of the last fourteen towns of eighteen towns in Manitowoc County. The current population of the town is 1292.
There are a variety of natural amenities found within the town of Cooperstown and its planning area, the Devils River, West Twin River, Kriwanek’s Creek, perennial and intermittent streams as well as the lakes and ponds are important surface waster resources that serve as an important recreational resource and carries and stores most the storm water and surface water runoff. The largest wetland area complex is located within the southern portion of the town and is named the Cooperstown Swamp.
Cherney Maribel Caves County Park occupies 75 acres on the West Twin River northeast of the Village of Maribel in the Town of Cooperstown. A rugged cliff line, generally paralleling the river, separates the gently rolling, partially wooded upland area from the wooded lowland adjacent to the river. The foot of the cliff line contains small caves and openings in the rock layers. The upland wooded area and its fringes have been developed with facilities for picnicking and hiking. Additional trails are located in the area of the park above the cliff line. Portions of the open land have been planted in seedlings in reforestation project. A staircase and trail system has been constructed for greater accessibility to the scenic lowland area. The Park is an especially significant geological area that was formed primarily by glacial activity. Through millions of years of deposition and change, glaciers wore down the land surface exposing an underlying solid mass of rock called Niagara Dolomite. Thus was formed the naked crags and irregular cliff line of the area. These formations are in contrast to other parts of Wisconsin where rich layers of bolder till were deposited by the glaciers. Over the years, the rock has decomposed. Springs, the changing seasons, ice and temperature variations broke down the rock. Small caves and openings created by these forces appear in the rock layers of the cliff line. Springs that seep from the limestone rock flow over moss covered rocks and trickle to the river. Rare ferns, varieties of creeping plants and wild flowers are found among the rocks and with =in the wooded growth.
The Town of Cooperstown’s Twenty-Year Vision through the town’s implementation of its Comprehensive Plan and close working relationship with the Village of Maribel, Manitowoc County and other neighboring communities will provide its residents a safe and peaceful rural atmosphere with a natural rustic landscape comprised of an abundance of farmlands, woodlots, wetlands, open spaces, recreational opportunities, and limited residential, commercial and industrial development. The town directs residential, commercial, and industrial growth in a reasonable fashion that allows landowners the use of their property for a variety of uses while preserving our low development densities, our rustic character, our natural resources, and our open spaces, all of which allows our residents the opportunity to enjoy the same resources similarly enjoyed by earlier generations.
The Village of Maribel and the Village of Denmark having planned areas that extend 1.5 miles from their municipal boundary influence growth and development in the town.
Contact the Town of Cooperstown
Mailing address: 15911 CTH R, Maribel, WI 54227
Posting locations in the Town of Cooperstown
Town Hall, Old Landfill, Corner of CTH Z & CTH R