Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1800.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Manchester’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manchester is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. 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.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchester’s 20.3 sits above most of its state (81% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 historic buildings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.3 points). Two sources give 1790.
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.
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.
1885Sheet 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.
Timeline
Manchester, 1790 to 1929
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Passages that mention Manchester, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Adams County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, including character sketches of the prominent persons identified with the first century of the country's growth ..1900 · page 437Read the page →
Read the text
In 1858 a new township named Manchester was formed from Sprigg Township including the town of Manchester. With slight alterations the present township is now as then formed. It includes the incorporated village of Manchester and Manchester Special School District.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Adams County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time, including character sketches of the prominent persons identified with the first century of the country's growth ..1900 · page 125Read the page →
Read the text
Pioneer Tavern Keepers, At the sitting of the first Court of Quarter Sessions at Manchester in 1797, Samuel Stoops, John McGate and Job Denning each petitioned the Court for a recommendation to the Governor for a tavern license, and their petitions were granted, "to keep tavern in the town of Manchester." At the same time John Pollock was g^ven a recommendation for a tavern license in the town of Alexandria at the mouth of the Scioto.
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.
By decade
Manchester, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
In 1790, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Manchester’s post office opened in 1800, and the census of 1850 counted 434 people here.
How does Manchester rank for history?
Manchester is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns. 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?
One place: the Ridge (listed 1992).
How old are the homes in Manchester?
35% of Manchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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, 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.
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