Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Manley School. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1960.
Manley dates its founding to 1883 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1960.
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 Manley’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Manley.
From Wikipedia’s history of Manley.
Manley was established in 1883 when the Missouri Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. An early variant name was "Summit". The present name "Manley" likely was named after a local cattleman. The village incorporated in 1954.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
BuiltManley School is builtThe country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 113 and 191 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Manley’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Manley itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Manley’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1960 counted 113 people here.
One place: the Manley School (listed 2004).
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 (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
2012
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