The Manly post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Manly Junction (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 84 in 18802020 census: 1,256143 years
How historic is Manly?
C+
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Manly post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Manly’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manly is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manly’s overall grade.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manly’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Manly’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Manly (originally called Manly Junction) was laid out in 1877 at the junction of two railroads: the Rock Island and the Chicago Great Western.
In 1912 the Rock Island made it a division point, with roundhouse and shops that employed several hundred workers. A Rock Island caboose sits at the southeast railroad crossing of IA-9 in commemoration of the town's history, and in 2006 a Rock Island engine was installed next to it with a dedication ceremony held on Manly's annual Railroad/Ag Days celebration.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manly. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1972Manly sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Manly.
People over time
Manly, census by census
Between 84 and 1,496 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Manly’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Manly’s post office has been open since 1883. Another post office, Manly Junction, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Manly Junction
1877–1883
Manly
1883–today
18701950today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Manly
ManlySacred Heart
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Manly’s history
What year was Manly founded?
The Manly post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Manly rank for history?
Manly is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Manly?
28% of Manly’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 1958.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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