Manhattan dates to 1855, and 41 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 59% of U.S. towns · #64 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
Most of Manhattan was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. 41 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 116 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1856.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Manhattan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manhattan is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #64 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manhattan’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’s 29.7 sits above most of its state (86% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 161 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1855.
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’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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manhattan. 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.
Every building
Manhattan, building by building, 1885–1930
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1855, according to Wikidata. Manhattan’s post office opened in 1856, and the census of 1870 counted 1,173 people here.
How does Manhattan rank for history?
Manhattan is more historic than 59% of U.S. towns, #64 of 151 in Kansas. 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?
41 listings: 36 buildings, among them the Goodnow House (listed 1971, the first), 4 historic districts with 116 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 161 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Manhattan?
7% of Manhattan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (41), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1869
1870
