Site of Manchester

A flourishing town once stood here; settled before 1799; stage-coach relay; shipping center for cotton traffic by boat to Charleston; a busy point on Wilmington & Manchester Railroad, 1852-1872, (station was 1 mile southeast); noted for its taverns, horse-racing, games of ball-alley, and cock-fighting; raided by Union troops, 1865; and abandoned by railroad, 1872, in favor of Wedgefield.