The village of Manchester was originally platted in 1882 by Ole Peterson and was again platted and surveyed in 1898 by H.W. Fish.

It was named after a town in Illinois where early settler Mathias Anderson came.

In 1877, a grain elevator was erected, and a year later a blacksmith shop opened. The same year, a post office opened and a general merchandise and grocery store was constructed.

In 1881, a wagon shop and an engine house were added to the blacksmith shop.

By 1910, Manchester had a town hall and a firemen’s hall, a bank, a creamery, Farmers Mutual Insurance Co., a railroad station, a post office, a hotel, an elevator, a hardware store, a general store and a blacksmith shop.

In 1916, Evangelical Lutheran Church was constructed, and at about the same time a two-room school was built. In the 1950s, the school consolidated with Albert Lea.

The city was incorporated in 1947, and water mains were installed the same year. In 1952, a tornado destroyed several businesses and homes.

The city’s population was listed at 57 in the 2010 census.

— Information from “Freeborn County Heritage”

 

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