Manchester’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Manchester. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1824 the United States Congress passed the General Survey Act, intended to create and maintain military roads through what was then the west of the country. One third of the funds allocated went to build a road between the strategic army posts of Detroit and Fort Dearborn, at the little town of Chicago. Known as the Chicago Road, it followed the old Sauk Trail and opened the entire area for settlement.
Also in 1824, the land around today's Manchester was surveyed by John Mack, who noted it as being "a good mill seat." John Gilbert, who had recently completed work on sections of the Erie Canal, agreed with John Mack, and on May 10, 1826 he purchased 80 acres (32 ha) of land along the River Raisin at that location.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Manchester’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Manchester’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewScene On Raisin River Manchester …, 1922: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Manchester
See all 6 →
Manchester, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Manchester is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Manchester has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Fountain-Bessac House in Manchester, 0.3 miles away.
Manchester and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Scene On Raisin River Manchester Mich (1922) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.