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Manchester-US52-ohPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
–Not graded
History · Manchester Township

Manchester Township dates to 1790, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1929 on, and the census since 1850.

1790founded
1on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manchester Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manchester Township began

When was Manchester Township founded?

1790

Manchester Township dates its founding to 1790 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 434 in 18502020 census: 1,882236 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓

What stands out about Manchester Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsEstablished in 1790: 236 years of Manchester Township.Old housesHalf of Manchester Township’s homes were built before 1958.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manchester Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manchester Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewJ. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Manchester Township, 1790 to 1929

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1790
    FoundingManchester Township is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1922In the archiveJ. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang, 17 yr. old twins of Manchester, Ohio, who narrowl…
  5. 1929On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Manchester Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manchester Township.

Read it all →

The community was originally founded in 1790 as Massie's Station for Nathaniel Massie, an explorer and entrepreneur who first surveyed Virginia Military District. It was the first permanent settlement in the District. It was laid out along the Ohio River near three islands. In 1791, Massie's Station became known as Manchester, Ohio, after Manchester, England, Massie's ancestral home. It was the fourth permanent settlement established in the Northwest Territory. By 1791, residents had completely encircled the community with a stockade.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Manchester Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s2 items
J. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang, 17 yr. old twins of Manchester, Ohio, who narrowly escaped death on the steamer…1922J. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang, 17 yr. old tw…Manchester OH 1st Presby PHS8721923Manchester OH 1st Presby PHS872
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown2 to date
U.S. Route 52 Bridge, Spanning Isaacs CreekDate?U.S. Route 52 Bridge, Spanning Isaacs CreekGeneral Nathaniel Massie House, Buckeye Station Bluff, Route 52Date?General Nathaniel Massie House, Buckeye Station Bluff…
Today19 recent
Majestic (riverboat)22020Majestic (riverboat)2Majestic (riverboat)2020Majestic (riverboat)Manchester-street-clock-oh2019Manchester-street-clock-ohManchester-US52-oh2019Manchester-US52-ohManchester-Ohio-River-oh2019Manchester-Ohio-River-ohManchester-Community-Building-oh2019Manchester-Community-Building-ohManchester-Bank-Building-oh2019Manchester-Bank-Building-ohMap of Adams County Ohio Highlighting Manchester Village2015Map of Adams County Ohio Highlighting Manchester Vill…MapIsDon32014IsDon3IsDon22014IsDon2ManchesterOH22013ManchesterOH2ManchesterOH12013ManchesterOH1AdamsCountyOHLibrary22013AdamsCountyOHLibrary2Manchester, Ohio2012Manchester, OhioManchester, Ohio Library2012Manchester, Ohio LibraryIsrael Donalson Grave2012Israel Donalson GraveFounders Cemetery2012Founders CemeteryManchester Ohio2011Manchester OhioOHMap-doton-Manchester2004OHMap-doton-Manchester
On the map

Manchester Township on the map, 1929 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Manchester Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Manchester Township on the 1929 USGS mapManchester Township on the 1935 USGS mapManchester Township on the 1952 USGS mapManchester Township on the 1961 USGS mapManchester Township on the 1974 USGS map1929Springdale 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 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.

J. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang, 17 yr. old twins of Manchester, Ohio, who narrowly escaped death on the steamer…
Retake this viewJ. Walter Lang (left) and Francis Lang, 17 yr. old twins of Manchester, Ohio, who narrowly escaped death on the steamer…, 1922

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Manchester Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Manchester Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Manchester Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5001850190019502000Peak: 2,313

Between 434 and 2,313 people in every census since 1850.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Manchester Township’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Monroe Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManchester1 historic placeASprigg TownshipIts storyC

Questions about Manchester Township’s history

What year was Manchester Township founded?

In 1790, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Manchester Township’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1850 counted 434 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (21), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.