Manchester, Kentucky

Manchester, Kentucky
Manchester, Kentucky
City
	Clay County Courthouse in Manchester, Kentucky
	Motto: The City of Hope
	Location of Manchester in Clay County, Kentucky.
	Coordinates: 37°9′10″N 83°45′48″W / 37.15278°N 83.76333°W
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	Clay
Incorporated	February 6, 1844
Named for	the English industrial town
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Steve Collins
Area
• Total	2.96 sq mi (7.65 km2)
• Land	2.93 sq mi (7.58 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.07 km2)
Elevation	869 ft (265 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,512
• Estimate (2022)	1,459
• Density	516.57/sq mi (199.44/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	40962
Area code	606
FIPS code	21-49656
GNIS feature ID	0513768
Website	welovemanchester.com

Manchester is a home rule-class city^[3] in Clay County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county^[4] and the home of a minimum- and medium-security federal prison. The city's population was 1,255 at the 2010 census.

History

The town was founded to be the seat of the newly formed Clay County in 1807 on a 10-acre (4.0 ha) parcel near the Lower Goose Creek Salt Works. The county court stipulated that the town be named Greenville in honor of the War of 1812 general who gave the county its name.^[5] The Greenville in Muhlenberg County had already preempted that name, however, and it was changed to "Manchester" in December. There was a local legend in the town that this was in honor of the hometown of Gen. Garrard's second wife Lucy Lees, but a prominent local family, the Hollingsworth, were originally from Manchester, England. Rennick points out that Lees was born well after the naming of the city. He opines that it is more likely that the local businessmen simply wanted a name evocative of the English industrial success.^[5]

Geography

Manchester is located at 37°9′10″N 83°45′48″W / 37.15278°N 83.76333°W / 37.15278; -83.76333 (37.152818, -83.763403).^[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	97		—
1900	398		—
1910	626		57.3%
1940	1,509		—
1950	1,706		13.1%
1960	1,868		9.5%
1970	1,664		−10.9%
1980	1,838		10.5%
1990	1,634		−11.1%
2000	1,738		6.4%
2010	1,255		−27.8%
2020	1,512		20.5%
2022 (est.)	1,459	^[7]	−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8]

As of the census^[9] of 2010, there were 1,255 people, 579 households, and 332 families living in the city. The population density was 836.7 inhabitants per square mile (323.1/km²). There were 655 housing units at an average density of 436.7 per square mile (168.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.5% White, 6.3% African American, 0% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 0.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1% of the population.

There were 579 households, out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 19% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84.

Education

Manchester has a lending library, the Clay County Public Library.^[10]

Media

Manchester is the city of license cited by four radio stations:

Notable people

Bert T. Combs – Former jurist and 50th Governor of Kentucky.
Theophilus T. Garrard – A politician and Union general in the American Civil War.
Richie Farmer – Former University of Kentucky shooting guard and Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.