Manchester, Michigan

Manchester, Michigan
—  Village  —
Manchester, Main St.
Location of Manchester, Michigan
Coordinates: 42°8′58″N 84°2′2″W / 42.14944°N 84.03389°W / 42.14944; -84.03389
Country	United States
State	Michigan
County	Washtenaw
Area
- Total	1.9 sq mi (4.9 km2)
- Land	1.8 sq mi (4.7 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	899 ft (274 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,160
- Density	1,201.8/sq mi (464.0/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	48158
Area code(s)	734
FIPS code	26-50660[1]
GNIS feature ID	0631375[2]

Manchester is a village in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,160 at the 2000 census. The village is located within Manchester Township.

History

Chicago Road

In an effort to create and maintain military roads throughout the western territories, Congress passed the General Survey Act of 1824. One third of the allocated money went towards building a highway between Detroit and Fort Dearborn at Chicago. The highway, which later became known as the Chicago Road would primarily follow the old Sauk Trail. Its completion paved the way for development in what was once a remote wilderness.

Coincidentally, 1824 also happened to be the year that the land that would eventually become Manchester Township was surveyed. On an 1824 map, surveyor John Mack noted the exact location that would become the village of Manchester as being "a good mill seat." While doing survey work for the Chicago Road throughout 1824 and 1825, John Gilbert, who had recently completed work on sections of the Erie Canal, noted the point on John Mack's map and on May 10, 1826 purchased 80 acres of land along the Raisin River at that location. Six years would pass before Gilbert would return to the site.^[3]

Early Village History

Though originally from upstate New York, John Gilbert resettled to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1831. In 1832, he decided to turn his attention to the extensive land tracts he held in the area. He commissioned the construction of a grist mill along the Raisin River upon the land he had purchased in 1826. The original plat of the village of Manchester was prepared by surveyor Hiram Burnham and dated 1833, but was not formally filed until March 25, 1835. The location was chosen to take advantage of water power from the river and named after Manchester, New York.^[4]

Soulesville

In 1833, James Soule purchased a large tract of land about 1-mile (1.6 km) downstream from Manchester.^[5] He built a small settlement he named Soulesville. Though the two settlements initially competed against each other, on March 16, 1867 both settlements were incorporated into the village of Manchester.^[6] The Manchester Village Office and Manchester Public Library are located on the site of the former settlement.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), of which, 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (5.26%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,160 people, 900 households, and 584 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,201.8 per square mile (463.3/km²). There were 949 housing units at an average density of 528.0 per square mile (203.6/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.24% White, 0.37% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 0.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 1.48% of the population.

There were 900 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the village the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $46,974, and the median income for a family was $56,875. Males had a median income of $43,438 versus $27,396 for females. The per capita income for the village was $24,113. About 4.3% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

The annual Manchester Chicken Broil serves approximately 12,000 broiled chicken meals over a four hour span; it celebrated its 57th anniversary in 2010.

The Manchester Area Historical Society publishes an annual calendar and a web site with articles on the early days of Manchester.

More information

Manchester, MI

The public school mascot is the flying dutchmen; the school colors are maroon and gold.

During the mid-late 1880s, Manchester was the home of Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

Weekly events and historical information are regularly published in the Manchester Enterprise, Manchester's oldest & only newspaper, founded in 1867 and found at www.manchesterenterprise.com.

The Carrier, 1988, was filmed in Manchester. [1]

The movie Flipped was also filmed in Manchester.

Famous residents

• Former NFL Wide Receiver Nick Davis was born in Manchester and played football for Manchester High School.

• Cub Koda, lead singer of Brownsville Station, best known for the 1973 hit song "Smokin' In the Boys Room", which was later covered by Mötley Crüe, graduated from Manchester High School.
• David Allen, former designer and design supervisor of popular children's shows Nickelodeon's The Rugrats, Paramount's Duckman, and Lily Tomlin's Edith Ann lives in Manchester.

Coordinates: 42°09′01″N 84°02′16″W / 42.15028°N 84.03778°W / 42.15028; -84.03778

• John Swainson, the 42nd Governor of the State of Michigan (1961–1963) as well as Justice of the Michigan State Supreme Court (1971–1975), resided in Manchester from the mid-1970s until his death in 1994. He lived on a country road in Bridgewater Township just east of the Village, in a large home that he nicknamed "The Hustings" (Husting). He was well-known in the community and many were honored to call him their friend. He could be found most mornings at the Village Bakery, sitting at a table with the men of the community, discussing politics—both national and state politics as well as village matters. He was also very active in the Manchester Historical Society.

• Bill Shurtliff [2], an artist perhaps best known for his popular pen and ink drawings of scenes of the campus of the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor area, has resided in Manchester since 1987. He lives in the Village and has a studio in his home. Most recently Bill's artwork has appeared as illustrations in a series of Catholic children's books authored by Dianne Ahern [3].

Gallery

• 

  Village offices, City Rd.

• 

  Wurster Park, Main St.

• 

  Downtown Manchester, Main St.

• 

  River Raisin from Main St.

• 

  Emanuel United Church of Christ, Main St.

• 

  Emanuel Church historical marker, Main St.

• 

  St. Mary's Catholic Church, Main St.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ http://www.manchesterareahistoricalsociety.org/book/major-john-gilbert-founder-manchester-part-1-2
4. ^ http://www.manchesterareahistoricalsociety.org/book/major-john-gilbert-founder-manchester-part-1-2
5. ^ http://www.manchesterareahistoricalsociety.org/book/soulesville
6. ^ http://www.manchesterareahistoricalsociety.org/book/burr-oak-openings