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History · Manila

14% of Manila’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on and old-book passages.

0on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Ellin Beltz · Public domain

What stands out about Manila’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Manila are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19224 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1972. Watch Manila change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manila’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manila’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Manila on the map, 1922 to 1972

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manila. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Manila on the 1922 USGS mapManila on the 1942 USGS mapManila on the 1958 USGS mapManila on the 1972 USGS map1922Eureka sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Manila.

The story

How Manila came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manila.

Read it all →

The town was founded at the end of World War II, and named after Manila in the Philippines. Humboldt Coastal Nature Center of Friends of the Dunes on Stamps Lane includes the Stamps Dune House and surrounding dune landscape. The house was originally built in 1985 as a retirement home of a couple whose heirs sold a large part of their property and the house to Manila-based Friends of the Dunes to use as a nature center on the dunes in 2007.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Manila in 1899

Passages that mention Manila, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The following is the story of the Battle of Manila from the Spanish standpoint. It was published in the Diario de Manila, the leading news paper of the city, on May 4, the first time it was issued after the de struction of the Spanish fleet: "When the enemy's squadron was sighted in perfect line of…
Admiral Dewey at Manila and the complete story of the Philippines1899 · page 58Read the page →
Read the text

The following is the story of the Battle of Manila from the Spanish standpoint. It was published in the Diario de Manila, the leading news paper of the city, on May 4, the first time it was issued after the de struction of the Spanish fleet: "When the enemy's squadron was sighted in perfect line of battle through the clouds of the misty dawn on the morning of May 1, gloom and surprise were general among the people of Manila.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Famous people

Famous people close to Manila

Nobody well known was born in Manila itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
S
Sara BareillesAmerican recording artist; pop rock singer-song… · b. 1979
M
Mike PattonAmerican singer · b. 1968
Steve CochranAmerican actor · b. 1917
Trevor DunnAmerican bassist · b. 1968
Frank FergusonAmerican actor · b. 1899
K
Kevin StillAmerican rower · b. 1960

Questions about Manila’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.