Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: old-book passages.
The Manilla post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manilla’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Manilla.
Manilla was originally called Wilmington, and under the latter name was laid out in 1836. The name Manilla most likely is derived from Manila, in the Philippines.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Manilla, cut from the printed page as they were published.
on the west side of Uriah Thomas' land. Charles Catlin taught here, and Maxwell: these in about 1849-53. Rhoda Clark taught at the Mersmore school house in 1857-58. Delphina Clark taught in the Gardner house in Manilla. Roland Haywood, of Rushville, taught in Manilla, beginning in 1861, three terms with eminent success. Thomas Noble, in 1854-55, taught the first school under the present school s^-stem. Malinda Harris taught in Mrs. Lewis' property, in Manilla, in 1850. Margaret Conrad, in
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The first school in Manilla, Dr. Trees says, was taught in the Methodist Episcopal log meeting house in 1841, by John W. Macy, who was a Quaker and, by trade, a carpenter. After that the log school house mentioned above was built, and the second school in Manilla was taught in a house which stood where the drug store now stands. About 1848 or *49 Miss Folger taught in the Gardner house. She afterward married Mr. George Clark of Union County. The first Trustees of Walker Township were: John
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Manilla is the third town in commercial importance in the county, is located in Walker Township, on the line of the Cambridge division of the J., M. & I. Railroad. The town was originally laid out January 4, 1836, by Elias Murphy, Jonathan Murphy, Jacob Mull and J. Edward. The first plat consisted of twenty-eight lots.
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career which lasted for many years. In 1848, a saw mill was located here for the purpose of furnishing the necessary lumber for the construction of the Shelbyville & Rushville Railroad. This road was completed to Manilla in 1850, the first train running to Manilla, JuU^ 4, of said year. To the success of this enterprise, Dr. James Trees contributed more than anjother citizen of Rush Count}'. The first grist mill was built in 1S60. This was succeeded a few years later by a large and well-equipped flouring
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.
The Manilla post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.
2016