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History · Manlius

Manlius’ post office opened in 1871, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the First State Bank of Manlius. Below: maps from 1921 on.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
42%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Manlius began

When was Manlius founded?

1871

The Manlius post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 298155 years
Founding year: the first Manlius post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Manlius’ 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 Manlius are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Manlius’ homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manlius’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Manlius, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Manlius yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Manlius Township is one of twenty-five townships in Bureau County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 574 and it contained 306 housing units. Manlius Township changed its name from Green River Township on an unknown date.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 359 to 298 (-17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Manlius, 1871 to 1921

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Manlius post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1915BuiltFirst State Bank of Manlius is built
  5. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Manlius on the map, 1921 to 1983

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

Manlius on the 1921 USGS mapManlius on the 1983 USGS map1921Buda 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 Manlius.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Manlius

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1975
First State Bank of Manlius
First State Bank of Manlius, built 1915
Buildings
First State Bank of ManliusBuilt 1915

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Manlius

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

See all →
B
Billy GarrettRacecar driver · b. 1933
V
Virgil FoxAmerican musician · b. 1912
Kathryn HaysAmerican actress · b. 1933
J
Josh TaylorAmerican actor · b. 1943
Neil ReaganAmerican actor (1908–1996); older brother of Ro… · b. 1908
W
William BascomAmerican folklorist · b. 1912

Questions about Manlius’ history

What year was Manlius founded?

The Manlius post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Manlius?

One place: the First State Bank of Manlius (listed 1975).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.