Manchester’s post office opened in 1832, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns · #77 of 177 in Tennessee. What drives it
Most of Manchester was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1860.
The Manchester post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Belmont (1872), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 316 in 18602020 census: 12,212194 years
How historic is Manchester?
B−
More historic than 53% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Manchester post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 53% of U.S. towns, #77 of 177 in Tennessee. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manchester’s overall grade.
Tennessee towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Tennessee town has 6.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchester’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Tennessee towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% 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 (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. 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 Manchester’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A post office called Manchester has been in operation since 1817. The city was named after Manchester, in England. According to historians, "A small village, “Mitchellsville” was already in existence near the proposed site for the new county seat, but when the new county was formed, it was renamed “Manchester” after the industrial city of Manchester, England. Because of the abundance of water power, provided by the “Little Duck” & “Big Duck” Rivers, which flow through Manchester, it was hoped that it also would become a great industrial city."
Long-time Mayor Lonnie J. Norman died of COVID-19 in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kanye West tweeted his condolences.
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.
The Manchester post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Manchester rank for history?
Manchester is more historic than 53% of U.S. towns, #77 of 177 in Tennessee. 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 and 1 site.
How old are the homes in Manchester?
3% of Manchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 4.9% for a Tennessee town; the median home was built in 1985.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1939
1939
