Manchester is a small incorporated town in northeastern

Carroll County, Maryland Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 172,891. Its county seat is Westminster. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Carroll County ...

, United States, located just south of the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

state line and north of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. The population was 4,808 at the 2010 census. Manchester was incorporated in 1833 and is the second oldest incorporated area in Carroll County after

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, which was incorporated in 1818. The town was originally formed as a part of

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

, before the creation of Carroll County in 1837. It is governed by an elected mayor and an elected five-person town council. Manchester lies in the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

region, marked by cold and snowy winters but humid and hot summers. This climate is ideal for growing farmed crops in the summer such as

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es,

sweet corn Sweet corn (''Zea mays'' convar. ''saccharata'' var. ''rugosa''), also called sweetcorn, sugar corn and pole corn, is a variety of maize grown for human consumption with a high sugar content. Sweet corn is the result of a naturally occurring rec ...

and squash, leaving much of the outlying area marked with large tracts of

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

land. Manchester is a rural commuting town where residents travel to work in the greater

Baltimore Metropolitan Area The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is part of the larger ...

and the greater

Washington Metropolitan Area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

History

The Town of Manchester, officially incorporated in 1833, was originally known as "Manchester Germantown". However, the name Germantown referred to a community west of Manchester that was later incorporated with the town. The town was originally laid out in Baltimore County and remained a part of that county until the creation of Carroll County on January 19, 1837. Prior to European

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

, the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

people occupied the territory now within the borders of Manchester. At the center of town stands an intersection of what were once two important Native American

trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

. One part of the trail connected the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers, and the other ran from the Conewago River to the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River ( ) mainstem is a river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howar ...

(

Hanover, Pennsylvania Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2020 census. Located southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, the town is situated in a productive agricultural region. It i ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

). The latter trail was laid out in 1737 as the first public road in what is now Carroll County by Robert Owings. The first land grant in the area, a tract of known as "Steven's Hope", was given to Samuel Stevens, and was laid at the intersection of present-day Lineboro Road. The first European settlers were English but later immigration brought people of German descent. There were many early land grants; the first one touching the present confines of town was made in 1758, issued to "German Churche". In 1765 Captain Richard Richards was granted a tract of of land which was named "New Market", adjoining the existing land grant of "German Churche". Richards laid out the town of Manchester, naming it after his home town in England. From the 18th century until the earliest parts of the 20th century, the primary languages spoken by the residents was German, or

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

. The custom of the German residents of making noodles and stringing them on lines outside their homes would give the town the nickname "Noodle Doosey". Later, Manchester would receive another nickname when the German custom of making ginger cakes brought on "Gingercake Town". Manchester was also a relatively large

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

manufacturing town, from after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

until around 1930, when the mass production of cigars made the manual method in use in the town less economical. Manchester was the home of one of the first colleges in Carroll County when, in 1858, Irving College, named after poet

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

, was established by Dr. Ferdinand Dieffenbach. During the Civil War the success of the school was greatly hampered by the death of Dr. Dieffenbach and the low number of young men returning from the front lines. The school changed its name to Irving Institute in 1886 and finally ceased operation by 1893. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Manchester was used as a camping area for the Union Sixth Army Corps under General

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was an American military officer who served as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsucces ...

on July 1, 1863. The next day, the army made its march to the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. Manchester has had three newspapers. The first, called the ''Manchester Gazette'', began publishing weekly in 1870 and ceased in 1872. The second went into print on December 11, 1880, and was called the ''Manchester Enterprise'', and in 1888 the ''Telephone Messenger'' was established. The official seal of the town of Manchester is a church steeple in the foreground and the likeness of a leaf-less tree in the background with the text "Founded 1765 Incorporated 1834". The image of the tree is a representation of a

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

and is considered the town symbol. The "Lutheran White Oak", as it has come to be known, is estimated at 320 years old. The large oak became a fixture of the town when, in 1758,

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

granted a charter to German

colonists A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

to erect a church near the tree. The town

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

was named ''Oaknotes'' as an homage to the large White Oak tree. Manchester is a typical " Main Street" town that continues expanding to accommodate a growing population. Manchester has its own

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, and home mail delivery is available to most residents. A majority, an estimated 95%, of town residents commute to work. There are no large employers inside the town limits, but there are many

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

es. Manchester is mostly residential buildings, with some restaurants, a bank and other small retail storefronts. A large portion of the businesses are located on or around Main Street which Maryland Route 30 becomes once entering "downtown" Manchester.

Demographics

The median income for a household in the town was $57,390, and the median income for a family was $62,679. Males had a median income of $37,794 versus $29,118 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $20,956. About 0.9% of families and 2.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,808 people, 1,632 households, and 1,269 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,713 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 92.0%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.6% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.6% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. There were 1,632 households, of which 44.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 22.2% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.26. The median age in the town was 37.3 years. 27.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.7% were from 45 to 64; and 10.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Geography

Topography

Manchester is located at (39.661762, -76.888014). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Manchester is located on the

Piedmont Plateau The Piedmont ( ) is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States. It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the Blue Ridge Mountains, stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont Province i ...

, west of the coastal lowlands of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

, in an area of rolling upland. Manchester's environs are the highest point in the state of Maryland east of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

Climate

Manchester lies in the transition zone between the

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

and humid continental climate zones, and experiences higher annual snowfall and colder temperatures than the southern half of Maryland, which lies in the humid subtropical climate zone. The hottest summer month is July, during which temperatures average a high of 87 °F (31 °C) with an average low of 63 °F (17 °C). The coldest month is January with an average high of 38 °F (3 °C) and average low of 21 °F (-6 °C) Manchester receives an annual precipitation of 43.67 inches (110.9 cm).

Events

During the summer, Manchester hosts the Manchester

Volunteer Fire Department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

. The carnival lasts several nights and usually coincides with

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

. A

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

display is set off to celebrate the holiday. Once a year, a female member of the Manchester community is chosen as "Miss Manchester Fire Queen".

Parks

Manchester has three major parks, totaling of developed and undeveloped land. Manchester has the most park area of any town in Carroll County. * Christmas Tree Park is located in the northeastern part of Manchester and has the largest developed park land in the area. It is the home of several baseball diamonds, three tennis courts, multiple

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

s for children, and picnic and grilling areas. In the less developed and wooded area there are three small to large

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

s. The park is mostly populated with pine trees that resemble

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

s. * Pine Valley Park, located in the northern part of town, has more than of land and over of trails, a natural spring, a pond and pine and hardwood forests. Opened in July 1995, it was created as an "open classroom" for nearby Manchester Elementary School. The school students voted and selected the name "Charlotte's Quest" for the classroom as a tribute to Charlotte B. Collett, the then Town Councilwoman who oversaw the project.

Government

Manchester has a democratically elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

. The mayor and individual councilors are elected for a term of four years. In 2011 Mayor Ryan Warner was elected for the first time, previously serving as a Town Council member. In 2023, Warner would lose his bid for re-election to Melinda Smith, who previously served on the Town Council between 2013 and 2021. It was announced in September 2015 that a new

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

building would be erected several blocks from the current location on property purchased by the town on Victory St. Members of the town council are Todd A. Benner (2013), Douglas Myers (2013), Daniel C. Riley (2013), Tammy Black (2015), and Vincent C. Pacelli. Manchester is in Maryland District 5A and is represented in the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

by Susan Krebs ( R), Haven Shoemaker (R) and April Rose (R). In the

Maryland State Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

residents are represented by Justin D. Ready (R). At the federal level Manchester is located in the 1st Congressional District of Maryland and is represented by Andy Harris (R) in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Education

Manchester hosts three public schools. Two of which are primary schools and the other is a secondary school. Manchester Elementary School was originally built in 1932 as Manchester High School. The school's current population is 604 students in

pre-kindergarten Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, and grades 1 through 5. Ebb Valley Elementary School opened in August 2008 with a student population of 467. Ebb Valley is a two-story school accommodating kindergarten through fifth grade students.

Manchester Valley High School Manchester Valley High School is a high school located in Manchester, Carroll County, Maryland on the eastern coast of the United States. Manchester Valley is located at 3300 Maple Grove Road. The school mascot is the Maverick, and the school ...

opened in August 2009 to help alleviate overpopulation at North Carroll High School in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

. Teaching grades 9 through 12, its first graduation ceremony occurred on June 1, 2011. The two high schools, Manchester Valley and North Carroll, merged as one school once again after North Carroll was shut down in 2016.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Manchester has three state designated highways within the town limits. * Maryland Route 30 *

Maryland Route 27 Maryland Route 27 (MD 27) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Ridge Road, the highway runs from Maryland Route 355, MD 355 in Germantown, Maryland, Germantown north to Maryland Route 30, MD 30 in ...

* Maryland Route 86 Traffic congestion is high, southbound, in the morning as commuters make their way to the greater

area. Traffic is also high in the evening as commuters make their way north to

via Pennsylvania Route 94 and southwest to

via

. There are plans to introduce a Manchester bypass relocating Route 30 outside of town limits.

Utilities

In 1907,

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

was granted rights to operate a telegraph and telephone line in Manchester, but telephone service was not utilized until 1921. Land line-based telephone service has been provided by

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

since its creation on June 30, 2000. Glen Rock Electric Light and Power Company first ran electric lines through town in 1922. In 1999, Maryland deregulated the electricity industry. As the result, residents of Manchester may choose from eleven electricity suppliers in the Baltimore Gas & Electric service area. Cable television is provided to residents by

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

inside Carroll County. Comcast began operations in the county after purchasing the now defunct

Adelphia Communications Corporation Adelphia Communications Corporation was an American cable television company with headquarters in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1952 by brothers Gus and John Rigas after the pair purchased a cable television franchise for US$300. ...

on July 31, 2006. Water is provided to town residents by the town's Public Works Department.

Media

A video depicting some of the main streets in Manchester

References

External links

Town of Manchester official website
{{authority control German-American culture in Maryland Pennsylvania Dutch culture in Maryland Towns in Carroll County, Maryland Towns in Maryland Populated places established in 1834 1834 establishments in Maryland Articles containing video clips