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C−History
History · Manchaca

Manchaca’s post office opened in 1881

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Manchaca was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2014.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: WhisperToMe · Public domain
Quick answers

How Manchaca began

When was Manchaca founded?

1881

The Manchaca post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Manchac (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 2,266145 years

How historic is Manchaca?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Manchaca post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Manchaca’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manchaca is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manchaca’s overall grade.
Founding era1881, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.5% of homes (±2.3) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchaca’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 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 Manchaca’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Manchaca are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manchaca’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Manchaca came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manchaca.

Read it all →

Early development around Manchaca probably stemmed from the springs in the area. Manchaca Springs are a stopping place along a portion of the Old San Antonio Road and later the Chisholm Trail.

Over time there has been much conjecture as to the origin of the name "Manchaca". One school holds that "Manchaca" is derived from the Choctaw word imashaka, meaning "behind it" or "to the rear." There are two areas in Louisiana that carry that name: Manchac Pass and Bayou Manchac. However, another theory holds that Manchaca Springs was named for Tejano army officer José Antonio Menchaca. The current pronunciation of the name 'Manchaca' stems from simple Anglicization.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Manchaca, 1874 to 1924

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Manchac post office opens
  3. 1875Post officeThe Manchac post office closes
  4. 1881Post officeThe Manchaca post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1924Born hereOtha Birkner is born here
By decade

Manchaca, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Geckoling of Manchaca 032024Geckoling of Manchaca 03Geckoling of Manchaca 022024Geckoling of Manchaca 02Geckoling of Manchaca 012024Geckoling of Manchaca 01A pair of salt marsh moths 022024A pair of salt marsh moths 02A pair of salt marsh moths 012024A pair of salt marsh moths 01Edge Of Grace2015Edge Of Grace
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Manchaca’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Manchac, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Manchac
1874–1875
Manchaca
1881–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Manchaca
Brown

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

San LeannaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAustin205 historic placesB+

Questions about Manchaca’s history

What year was Manchaca founded?

The Manchaca post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Manchaca rank for history?

Manchaca is more historic than 18% 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.

How old are the homes in Manchaca?

2% of Manchaca’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2014.

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.