Most of Manhattan Township was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Its Register listings are the Rocky Ford School, the KSAC Radio Towers and the Persons Barn and Granary. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 1870.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manhattan Township is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manhattan Township’s overall grade.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manhattan Township’s 16.9 sits above most of its state (77% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1855.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Manhattan Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Before settlement by European-Americans in the 1850s, the land around Manhattan was home to Native tribes. From 1780 to 1830, it was home to the Kaw people, also known as the Kansa. The Kaw settlement was called Blue Earth Village (Manyinkatuhuudje), named after the river which the tribe had named the Great Blue Earth River, today known as the Big Blue River, which intersected with the Kansas River near their village. Blue Earth Village was the site of a large battle between the Kaw and the Pawnee in 1812.
The Kaw tribe ceded ownership of this land in a treaty signed at the Shawnee Methodist Mission on January 14, 1846.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manhattan Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947Manhattan 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 Manhattan Township.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewRocky Ford Dam, Big Blue River, Rocky Ford Power Company, Riley County, 1866
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Manhattan Township’s page.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. the census of 1870 counted 1,173 people here.
How does Manhattan Township rank for history?
Manhattan Township is more historic than 53% 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.
What is on the National Register in Manhattan Township?
Three places: the Rocky Ford School (listed 2012), the KSAC Radio Towers (1983) and the Persons Barn and Granary (2009).
How old are the homes in Manhattan Township?
10% of Manhattan Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1981.
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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
1869
1870
