On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manchester is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #276 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manchester’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchester’s 9.6 sits near the middle of its state (45% of New York towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.4 points). Two sources give 1793.
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 Manchester’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Manchester’s post office has been open since 1812. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Manchester
1812–today
Port Gibson
1828–today
Manchester Centre
1829–1902
Clifton Springs
1849–today
Gypsum
1850–1887
Shortsville
1856–today
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Clifton SpringsFriendly Village of Manchester Mobile Home ParkGypsumHesseney Mobile Home ParkLake Country Mobile ManorManchester CenterPort GibsonPrestige Communities Mobile Home ParkRitz Mobile Home ParkRock Haven Mobile Home ParkShortsvilleSpringbrook Mobile Home ParkWillow Creek Estates
Gone or out of use
Manchester High SchoolschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 11schoolSchool Number 12schoolSchool Number 13schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 3schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 9schoolSeventh District Public SchoolschoolShortsville High Schoolschool
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Manchester
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manchester. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1902Phelps 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 Manchester.
The story so far
Manchester, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Manchester yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Manchester is a town in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 9,406 at the 2020 census. The town was named after one of its villages, which in turn was named after the city of Manchester in England. It was formed in 1822 from the town of Farmington. The Town of Manchester includes a village also named Manchester. The town is northeast of the city of Canandaigua.
Manchester was established in 1793. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 9,395 in 2010, 9,404 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Manchester in 1836
Passages that mention Manchester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Manchester, its political, social and commercial history, ancient and modern1836 · page 328Read the page →
Read the text
The affairs regarding the poor of JMLanchester have ever since the year 1790, been governed by a local Act, which was obtained by the people of Manchester, for the purpose of ** providing a new Poorhouse for, and for the better relief and government of, the poor of the township of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster,'* as its heading declares. The preamble recites that, the town is " very populous, and the poor thereof are become exceedingly
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Manchester, its political, social and commercial history, ancient and modern1836 · page 11Read the page →
Read the text
From the Saxons also the new town of Manchester is said to have had its origin, on or near the site of the summer camp of the Romans, (a supposed station, no traces of which have yet been found, and the existence of which is questioned) and in contiguity with the present Market Place. The Aldport or Old Town had become much dilapidated by incessant warfare and the lapse of time.
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.
Timeline
Manchester, 1793 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1793, according to Wikidata. Manchester’s post office opened in 1812, and the census of 1830 counted 2,811 people here.
How does Manchester rank for history?
Manchester is more historic than 89% of U.S. towns, #276 of 758 in New York. 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 Manchester?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Clifton Springs Sanitarium (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Clifton Springs Sanitarium Historic District, with 4 contributing buildings. 9 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Manchester?
41% of Manchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1956.
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 the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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 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.
