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CHistory
History · Manchester

Manchester’s post office opened in 1893

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #152 of 285 in Washington. What drives it

Most of Manchester was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1937 on.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Manchester’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Manchester began

When was Manchester founded?

1893

The Manchester post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Colby (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 5,714133 years

How historic is Manchester?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
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 26% of U.S. towns, #152 of 285 in Washington. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manchester’s overall grade.
Founding era1893, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19407.8% of homes (±5.2) · typical WA town 4.3% · U.S. 8.4%C+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WA town 0.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 47%

Few Washington towns list much on the Register (a typical Washington town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchester’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (27% of Washington 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 C− to C. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 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 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.
★ 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 viewCOMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUAC…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Manchester came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Manchester.

Read it all →

Manchester was established in the 1860s and was originally known as "Brooklyn", after the borough in New York City. The name was changed to "Manchester" in 1892 in honor of the city of Manchester, England. Manchester was accessible by land via Shelton/Allyn/Belfair, but the main population center in the region, Seattle, had only boat access. After a permanent dock was built in 1908, regular steamboat service connected Manchester to nearby communities like Colby, Southworth, and Harper, and to Seattle across the water.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Manchester, 1884 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Colby post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Manchester post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1954Post officeThe Colby post office closes
  7. 1973In the archiveCOMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITE
By decade

Manchester, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s4 items
COMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITE1973COMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITEROY YAGER NETTING COMMERCIALLY RAISED SALMON AT THE DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITE IN1973ROY YAGER NETTING COMMERCIALLY RAISED SALMON AT THE D…TERRY BIGFORD REMOVES FRESH-KILLED SALMON FROM CHILL TANK AT THE DOMSEA AQUACULTURAL SITE1973TERRY BIGFORD REMOVES FRESH-KILLED SALMON FROM CHILL …TERRY BIGFORD REMOVES FRESH-KILLED SALMON FROM CHILL TANK AT THE DOMSEA AQUACULTURAL SITE1973TERRY BIGFORD REMOVES FRESH-KILLED SALMON FROM CHILL …
1980s–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
Today9 recent
Point Glover 012022Point Glover 01Manchester library2022Manchester libraryManchester WA sign2022Manchester WA signPomeroy park2021Pomeroy parkSea Kayaker Entering Water Near Manchester Washington Marina2013Sea Kayaker Entering Water Near Manchester Washington…Manchester Washington Marina2013Manchester Washington MarinaSeattle View2009Seattle ViewPost0267 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2006Post0267 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryManchesterWashingtonWaterfront2006ManchesterWashingtonWaterfront
On the map

Manchester on the map, 1937 to 1981

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 1937 USGS mapManchester on the 1953 USGS mapManchester on the 1968 USGS mapManchester on the 1973 USGS mapManchester on the 1981 USGS map1937Port Orchard 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.

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.

COMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITE
Retake this viewCOMMERCIAL SALMON HARVEST, DOMSEA AQUACULTURE SITE, 1973

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
Famous people

Famous people close to Manchester

Nobody well known was born in Manchester itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bill GatesAmerican businessman, investor, and philanthrop… · b. 1955
Jimi HendrixAmerican guitarist · b. 1942
Paul AllenAmerican businessman and philanthropist, co-fou… · b. 1953
Dove CameronAmerican actress and singer · b. 1996
Linda B. BuckAmerican biologist · b. 1947
Chris CornellAmerican musician · b. 1964
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Manchester’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Colby, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Colby
1884–1954
Manchester
1893–today
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColbyColchester

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.

Bainbridge Island3 historic placesA−

Questions about Manchester’s history

What year was Manchester founded?

The Manchester post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Manchester rank for history?

Manchester is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #152 of 285 in Washington. 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 Manchester?

8% of Manchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 4.3% for a Washington town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (13), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.