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History · Manchester

Manchester dates to 1761, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1790.

1761founded
4on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manchester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manchester began

When was Manchester founded?

1761

Manchester dates its founding to 1761 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,276 in 17902020 census: 783265 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1793.The full story ↓

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 history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1997. Watch Manchester change.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1921, drew every building in Manchester.Older than the countryEstablished in 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Manchester’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewA View of Manchester, Vermont (1870): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Manchester on the map, 1894 to 1997

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

Manchester on the 1894 USGS mapManchester on the 1900 USGS mapManchester on the 1968 USGS mapManchester 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.

Every building

Manchester, building by building, 1885–1921

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.

Manchester fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Manchester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manchester.

Read it all →

The town was one of several chartered in 1761 by Benning Wentworth, colonial governor of New Hampshire. It was his custom to name new towns after prominent English aristocrats of the day, hoping they might adopt a patronly interest in their namesakes. Wentworth named Manchester for Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester. First settled in 1764, the town was laid out in 1784. The land was better suited for grazing than tillage, so by 1839 about 6,000 sheep roamed the pastures and hillsides.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Manchester, 1761 to 1917

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1761
    FoundingManchester is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1824Born hereEdmund H. Bennett is born here
  5. 1831Born hereMyra Bradwell is born here
  6. 1864Born hereJoseph Sweetman Ames is born here
  7. 1870In the archiveA View of Manchester, Vermont (1870)
  8. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1895In the archiveDellwood Cemetery Gates
  10. 20th century
  11. 1908In the archiveManchester Depot (VT) postcard
  12. 1917Born hereJames M. Clarke is born here
By decade

Manchester, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1900s4 items
A View of Manchester, Vermont (1870)1870A View of Manchester, Vermont (1870)Dellwood Cemetery Gates1895Dellwood Cemetery GatesMain Street1898Main StreetManchester Depot (VT) postcard1908Manchester Depot (VT) postcardPostcard
1910s–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.

A View of Manchester, Vermont (1870)
Retake this viewA View of Manchester, Vermont (1870), 1870

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 listings protect 77 historic buildings

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
77
each building in a district counts

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

People over time

Manchester, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,000180018501900195020004,484

Grew from 1,276 people in 1790 to 4,484 in 2020, 3 times over.

24 censuses, 1790–2020.

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

Famous people

10 famous people were born in Manchester

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

See all →
Joseph Sweetman AmesAmerican university president · b. 1864
Myra BradwellAmerican publisher and political activist · b. 1831
Edmund H. BennettAmerican mayor and judge · b. 1824
James M. ClarkeAmerican politician · b. 1917
F
Frank DriggsAmerican record producer and archivist · b. 1930
Benjamin S. RobertsUnion Army General · b. 1810
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Manchester Center1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Manchester’s history

What year was Manchester founded?

In 1761, according to Wikidata. Manchester’s post office opened in 1793, and the first U.S. census counted 1,276 people here in 1790.

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 (4), Wikidata (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.