History · Manchester

Manchester’s post office opened in 1856, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: maps from 1955 on.

1856first post office

0on the National Register

35%homes built before 1940

Add an old photo Share a memory

Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0

Quick answers

How Manchester began

When was Manchester founded?

1856

The Manchester post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Lake Maria (1848) and Salemville (1875), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,057170 years

How historic is Manchester?

B⁻

More historic than 52% 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).

History grade

What drives Manchester’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Manchester is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B⁻

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Manchester’s overall grade.

Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC⁺Homes built before 194034.5% of homes (±11.0) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%A National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%

NewerOlder

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Manchester’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin 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 B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.0 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 writtenNo old photos of Manchester are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Manchester.

★ 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

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Manchester had its own post office from 1856 to 1996. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lake Maria

1848–1887

Manchester

1856–1996

Salemville

1875–1887

18401930today

Gone or out of use

Manchester Damdam

3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Manchester

KrastetterLake MariaWilliams

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

The story so far

Manchester, in brief

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

Manchester is a town in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,057 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Manchester is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1856. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,022 to 1,057 (+3%).

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

Timeline

Manchester, 1848 to 1996

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

19th century
1848Post officeThe Lake Maria post office opens
1856Post officeThe Manchester post office opens
1875Post officeThe Salemville post office opens
1887Post officeThe Lake Maria post office closes
1887Post officeThe Salemville post office closes
20th century
1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1996Post officeThe Manchester post office closes

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.

Add from your album

On the map

Manchester on the map, 1955 to 1980

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

1955Randolph 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.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

MackfordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town KingstonIts storyB RandolphIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town MarkesanIts storyB⁺KingstonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town ScottIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town Green LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Manchester’s history

What year was Manchester founded?

The Manchester post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Manchester rank for history?

Manchester is more historic than 52% 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 Manchester?

35% of Manchester’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.0 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 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.

Post to Manchester

Check your email