Just a Random Town

Sort of another ongoing topic on this blog is the history of some of the towns in Michigan.  Tonight, I bring you Manchester, MI.

 Manchester was originally surveyed in 1824 by John Mack who noted it as a good mill seat.  Two years later, that land was bought by John Gilber who agreed that it would be a good mill seat.  He was originally from upstate New York but decided to settle in Ypsilanti.  In 1832, he decided to put the land he bought to use and started to build a grist mill there.  I believe this is a remnant of that mill.

 The original plat was formed in 1833 but not filed until 1835.  The town was named after Manchester, New York which in turn was named after Manchester, England.

 Also in 1833, James Soule purchased a tract of land about 1 mile south.  He built a settlement called Soulesville.  Originally, both settlements competed against each other but were combined in 1867.

 Manchester is home to about 2,000 people.

 And once again, its downtown follows the Standard Midwestern Town template.

 Currently known as the Sharon United Methodist Church, this was once known as the Salem Church.

 The group was founded a couple of miles west of here by the Reverend Edward Weiss in 1874.  In 1876, this land was bought from the Rowe Family and was known as Rowes Corner.  The church was dedicated in that year.

It is an example of Gothic Revival architecture and is similar to many churches built in the area by German immigrants.  I thought it was pretty neat looking church.