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Main Street, Manchester Center, VTPhoto: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Manchester Center

Manchester Center’s post office opened in 1886, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1894 on.

1886first post office
1on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Manchester Center began

When was Manchester Center founded?

1886

The Manchester Center post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 2,145140 years
Founding year: the first Manchester Center post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Manchester Center’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 Manchester Center are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1997. Watch Manchester Center change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manchester Center’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manchester Center’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
On the map

Manchester Center on the map, 1894 to 1997

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

Manchester Center on the 1894 USGS mapManchester Center on the 1900 USGS mapManchester Center on the 1968 USGS mapManchester Center on the 1997 USGS map1894Equinox 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 Center.

The story so far

Manchester Center, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Manchester Center yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Manchester Center is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Manchester in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, Manchester Center had a population of 2,145.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,120 in 2010, 2,145 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Manchester Center, decade by decade

Today6 recent
2017-09-10 17 35 04 View north along Historic Vermont State Route 7A and Vermont State Route 30 (Main Street) at Vermon…20172017-09-10 17 35 04 View north along Historic Vermont…2017-09-10 17 33 10 View east along Vermont State Route 11 and south along Vermont State Route 30 (Depot Street) at His…20172017-09-10 17 33 10 View east along Vermont State Rou…2017-09-10 17 31 53 View north along Historic Vermont State Route 7A (Main Street) at Vermont State Route 30 (Bonnet St…20172017-09-10 17 31 53 View north along Historic Vermont…2017-09-10 17 31 17 View north along Vermont State Route 30 (Bonnet Street) at Historic Vermont State Route 7A (Main St…20172017-09-10 17 31 17 View north along Vermont State Ro…Post office boxes2015Post office boxesCirca 1899, when called the Thayer Hotel. People in the photo are Charles Ames, L. Buckley and Pat Phalen2013Circa 1899, when called the Thayer Hotel. People in t…
On the National Register

1 historic place in Manchester Center

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

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

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Manchester4 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Manchester Center’s history

What year was Manchester Center founded?

The Manchester Center post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.