Manlius dates to 1790, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #447 of 758 in New York. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 90 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Manlius’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manlius is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #447 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manlius’ 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 Manlius’ 29.1 sits near the middle of its state (61% of New York towns have fewer) while its 97 historic buildings outnumber those of 89% 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 (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1790.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Manlius’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Comstock HallbuildingFayetteville High SchoolschoolFayetteville Methodist ChurchchurchFayetteville QuarrymineHuntington HallbuildingKinsella QuarrymineKnox HallbuildingManlius High SchoolschoolManlius SchoolschoolSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 8schoolThompson Hallbuilding
In the 17th century, Onondaga people settled a town on the south side of what would later become Manlius. French explorers visited the town around 1654 and described the town as having an earthwork and ringed by walls. The town was occupied through 1682. This site became Indian Hill Memorial Park.
Manlius was a township of the former Central New York Military Tract. Manlius is the name of several important Romans, but exactly which one was being honored is no longer known. The current town was first settled around 1790.
The town of Manlius was founded in 1794, along with Onondaga County, which decreased with the formation of new towns (DeWitt, Onondaga, Salina) and part of Syracuse.
Passages that mention Manlius, cut from the printed page as they were published.
... History of Onondaga County, New York1878 · page 374Read the page →
Read the text
St. Mary's (Catholic) Church, situated in the town of Manlius, on the road from Manlius Station to Bridgeport. The church was organized in 1833 in a little district school house, wherein services were first held. The following are the names of the original heads of families connected with the parish : Matthias Sutter, Felix Fieselmayer, George
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
... History of Onondaga County, New York1878 · page 261Read the page →
Read the text
At the organization of the county, in 1794, the territory embraced in the town of Salina was comprehended in the original townships of Manlius and Marcellus ; and after the town of Onondaga was set off, in 1798, and the township of Marcellus was organized as a town, that portion of the Reservation not included in Onondaga, on the west side of the lake and creek, was attached to Camillus. At the
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
Manlius, 1790 to 1900
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
1894Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 viewHigh Bridge (Onondaga County, New York) postcard, c. 1900
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Manlius’ page.
In 1790, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Manlius’ post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1820 counted 5,372 people here.
How does Manlius rank for history?
Manlius is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #447 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 Manlius?
6 listings: 3 buildings, 2 historic districts, the Manlius Village Historic District and the Genesee Street Hill-Limestone Plaza Historic District, with 90 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 97 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Manlius?
11% of Manlius’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
1909
1909
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2009
2009
2005
