Population: Not listed, but not more than a few dozen permanent residents in the original town.
Reason for becomming a lost town:
Once the timber harvest was completed and the timber business packed up and left town..
History:
The first white settler was a Scotsman, John Stevenson, in 1878. The town was named for Mueller M. Raber, a local lumberman. The village of Raber had a post office in from 1889 through 1954. After that, mail came from Goetzville.
In 1897, the population was reported to be 36 and the town had a general store and sawmill. By 1907, the population had swollen to 250. The town boasted a physician, two ministers, two boarding houses, a hotel, two school teachers, a justice and a saloon. The Mud Lake Lumber Company was the primary employer. The company brought a narrow gauge lumber railroad to the area with lines from three directions leading to their sawmill on the bay. On July 4th, 1904 the original and second mills burned. The company built a circular sawmill to finish what timber was left. That mill burned in 1919.
Raber Bay is protected from prevailing westerly winds and was an excellent anchorage for lumber ships. There were always two or three schooners at anchor in the bay waiting to be loaded. In the water, south of the current boat launch, are many pilings in the water left over from the docks used in lumber days. There is still part of a dock at the end of Lime Island Road.
Notes of Interest:
Today, what remains of the town is supported by summer cottage owners and the sport fishing industry. The St. Mary’s River and Munuscong Lake are popular with fishermen in the summer and even through the thick ice in winter. The town consists of a tavern and a tiny motel, plus several fish camps in the original town and surrounding area. The population swells during the summer months at these camps and the many cottages in the area. Walleye and are abundant and Herring run around the Fourth of July, corresponding with the Mayfly hatch. Muskie can also be caught. There is a country store and a church in what is commonly referred to as North Raber (never a town) a few miles north. Round Island, a small island northeast of Raber, in Raber Bay, can be used to determine the length of passing ore boats. If one can see both ends of the boat passing behind the island, the boat is a 1000 footer.
