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The Miami Indians were the first people who lived here. The Potawatomis
(Keepers of the Fire) had pushed south in Indiana to the Kenapocomoco (Eel
River, the Snake Fish) by 1750. The Potawatomi chief, Pierish, built his village
on the high ground just north of the Manchester College football field, now the
Hostetler addition to the town.
Richard Helvey settled on this Indian village site in 1834. He was the first
settler. Peter Ogan came in 1834 and built the first house. Joseph Harter came
in 1836 and his daughter, Phoebe, was the first white child born in North
Manchester. She was the mother of Andrew Cordier, Assistant Secretary of the United Nations, and grandmother of Dorothy Butterbaugh Cordier.
Peter Ogan surveyed and laid out a plat of the town, including wide streets, in 1836-1837. The plat was recorded on February 13, 1837, and the town was incorporated in 1874. In 1860
the population was about 400, by 1876 about 1,600, in 1970 - 5,791, and in 1980
- 5,998. Our 1990 census records our population at 6,383.
North Manchester is located between Indiana State Road 13 and 114 in Chester
Township, Wabash County, on the 41st parallel, north latitude.
The railroads came in 1871-1872. They were the Big Four and the Vandalia,
later known as Conrail and Penn Central. Their coming helped North Manchester to
grow rapidly. It made possible the outstripping of the town's rival, Liberty Mills,
led by John Comstock, primary owner. Before the
railroads a plank road known as the Mail Trace from Lagro was very influential
in the growth of the North Manchester community. Stemming from the Wabash and Erie Canal, it was
important from about 1850-1870.
Early family names in the North Manchester area: Ogan, Harter, Cook,
Brown, Butterbaugh, Strickler, Frame, Lautzenhiser, Bonewitz, Wright,
Ebbinghouse, Grossnickle, Delauter, Frantz, Ulrey, Noftzger, Cripe, Abbott,
Williams, Strauss, Karn, Oppenheim, Heeter, Halderman, Beauchamp, Peabody,
Baker, Blocher, Howe, Hoover, Hippensteel, Martin, Swank and Simonton.
North Manchester's churches were founded in the years noted:
Church of the Brethren, 1838; Old German Baptist, 1881; First Brethren, 1885;
Methodist, 1841, and United Brethren, 1844 (now combined into the United
Methodist Church); Congregational Christian, 1842; Lutheran, 1846; Church of the
Nazarene, 1937; Missionary, 1953; and Catholic, 1958.
Education has always been important to North Manchester. From the 1839 school taught by Thomas Keeley to
the present large school system, the growth has been steady. The first school was
a one-room affair located about one block north of the present post office site.
Today we have two elementary schools (Manchester Elementary and Laketon
Elementary), a Junior High School and a large High School. The first high school
was built in 1875 on the site of the new Public Library.
Products manufactured here by individuals and industries during the years: flour, mixed feeds, lumber, furniture (church and school), shingles,
staves, tool handles, cast iron, DeWitt automobiles in 1903-1909, cigars, water
heaters, chicken brooders, seed sowers, wagons, buggies, screen doors, harrows,
ladders, show cases, pumps, skirts, Balsamic oil, animal rendering oil, leather,
screens and grills, vacuum bait, electrical fixtures and abrasives, rebound
books, bonnets, lye, brake linings, foot stools, dairy products, baked goods,
guns, windmills, boat hitches, anchor controls, cedar chests, bathtubs, boiler
cleaners, fireless cookers, pens, pen holders, canned goods, saddles and
bridles, battery cable, ignition wire harnesses, washing and sewing machine
timers, abrasive wheels, automobile headliners, specialized tool and die
machinery, auto air conditioner parts, wildflower seed, bicycle and wheelchair
rims, and fireplaces and fireplace inserts.
Newspapers in North Manchester: the first was The Advertiser, 1865. It became
the Union Banner in 1867 and later The Exchange in 1868. The Republican ran from
1868-1882. The Journal began in 1873 and merged in 1921 with the News which
began in 1940 and today is the News-Journal, celebrating its 125th
year in 1998.
Notable people who have lived here: Thomas R. Marshall, 1854-1925, was
born here. He was governor of Indiana 1909-1913 and Vice President of the United
States 1913-1921 when Woodrow Wilson was President. Lloyd C. Douglas was pastor
of the Lutheran Church for a short time; J. Raymond Schutz, lecturer; Otho
Winger was President of Manchester College 1911-1941; Vernon F. Schwalm was
President of Manchester College 1941-1956; Andrew W. Cordier was Asst. Executive
Secretary of the United Nations from 1945 for 20 years; Thomas Peabody, W. E.
Billings, Editor of the News-Journal; Grace Von Studiford, opera singer; and
Frazier Hunt, writer.
Places to visit: Heckman Bindery, Peabody Retirement Community,
Timbercrest Retirement Home, Indiana Lawrence Bank, Manchester College,
North Manchester Public Library, Thomas R. Marshall birthplace home, numerous Victorian
homes, Community Pool, Warvel Park, Halderman Park, Frantz Park, Harter's Grove
nature area, the covered bridge, Thomas Marshall Town Life Center and park,
Ruppel Sports Complex, Manchester Industrial Complex, the old dam site, the
Summer House, the Hospitality House, Daenefeldt Wildflower Seed gardens, the
downtown parking lot and children's garden, the Historical Museum, and the
Victorian Village (downtown Main Street and shops). A publication, OLD HOUSES
OF NORTH MANCHESTER, by Dr. L. Z. Bunker, and other cherished souvenirs are
available at the Chamber of Commerce office.
The oldest business houses of today are Strauss Mill and Feed (now veal
feeds) and Oppenheim's (Grand Old Department Store). Both began in 1875.
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