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B−History
History · Manning

Manning’s post office opened in 1856, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #64 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Manning was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 46 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.

1856first post office
5on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manning’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manning began, and where its name came from

When was Manning founded?

1856

The Manning post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,069 in 18902020 census: 3,878170 years

How did Manning get its name?

Manning was named after former South Carolina governor John Laurence Manning.

How historic is Manning?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Manning post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Manning’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manning is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #64 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manning’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.9% of homes (±3.2) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 51 historic buildings, 132 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 62%

South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manning’s 132 sits above most of its state (86% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Manning’s past

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

A historic districtThe Manning Commercial Historic District takes in 46 historic buildings.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1912, drew every building in Manning.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1980. Watch Manning change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

5 listings protect 51 historic buildings

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
51
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Manning Library
Manning LibraryAlderman's 20 Stores in OneManning Commercial Historic DistrictClarendon County Health Center and Office Building
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival2
Greek Revival1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style1
Moderne1
Manning LibraryClassical Revival
Davis HouseGreek Revival
Alderman's 20 Stores in OneLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements: Commercial Style
Manning Commercial Historic DistrictClassical Revival
All 5 listings
Clarendon County Health Center and Office BuildingBuilding · listed 2022

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

Every building

Manning, building by building, 1895–1912

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.

Manning fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 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.

On the map

Manning on the map, 1921 to 1980

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

Manning on the 1921 USGS mapManning on the 1944 USGS mapManning on the 1980 USGS map1921Manning 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 Manning.

The story

How Manning came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manning.

Read it all →

In 1855, the South Carolina Legislature appointed a group of commissioners to select and purchase a tract of land for "the Village of Manning" in the newly formed Clarendon County. According to the Watchmen, a local newspaper of the time, "the Legislature (had) granted a bill of divorce between Clarendon and Claremont (Sumter)."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Manning, 1856 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Manning post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910In the archiveManning - A residence
  5. 1920In the archiveManning - Public Library
  6. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1927Born herePeggy Parish is born here
  8. 1933In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey. - Oakland
  9. 1967Born hereDarren Robinson is born here
  10. 1969Born hereJimmy Spencer is born here
  11. 1970Born hereGlenn Murray is born here
By decade

Manning, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s11 items
Manning - A residencec. 1910Manning - A residenceManning - Public Libraryc. 1920Manning - Public LibraryHistoric American Buildings Survey. - Oakland1933Historic American Buildings Survey. - OaklandManning - Clarendon County Courthouse and Monumentc. 1935Manning - Clarendon County Courthouse and MonumentPauline Clyburn, rehabilitation client at Manning, Clarendon1939Pauline Clyburn, rehabilitation client at Manning, Cl…Pauline Clyburn, rehabilitation client, and her children str1939Pauline Clyburn, rehabilitation client, and her child…Rural South Carolina near Manning1939Rural South Carolina near ManningNegro church near Manning, South Carolina1939Negro church near Manning, South CarolinaSharecropper family, near Manning, South Carolina, tying tobacco1939Sharecropper family, near Manning, South Carolina, ty…Sharecropper family, near Manning, South Carolina, tying tobacco1939Sharecropper family, near Manning, South Carolina, ty…Sharecropper's children tying tobacco, near Manning, South Carolina1939Sharecropper's children tying tobacco, near Manning, …
1940s–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
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.

Manning - A residence
Retake this viewManning - A residence, c. 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Manning, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 4,746

Between 1,069 and 4,746 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Manning

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Darren RobinsonAmerican rapper and beatboxer · b. 1967
P
Peggy ParishAmerican children's writer · b. 1927
G
Glenn MurrayAmerican baseball player · b. 1970
J
Jimmy SpencerAmerican football player, defensive back, corne… · b. 1969
J
John R.American DJ · b. 1910
F
Fred BennettPlayer of Gridiron Football · b. 1983
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Manning’s post office has been open since 1856.

Gone or out of use
Manning Training Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Manning
Manning

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Manning’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewManning - A residence: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Manning’s history

What year was Manning founded?

The Manning post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Manning rank for history?

Manning is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #64 of 169 in South Carolina. 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 Manning?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Manning Library (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the Manning Commercial Historic District, with 46 contributing buildings. 51 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Manning?

3% of Manning’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1980.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.