Area Information
The Kansas-Nebraska Act opened the territory to settlement in 1854. That same fall, George S. Park founded the first Euro-American settlement within the future borders of Manhattan. He named the town Polistra, and soon thereafter Samuel D. Houston and four other pioneers founded a neighboring town named Canton.
These initial founders remained the only
occupants of the two towns until April of 1855, when a group of New England Free-Staters came to the area in the hopes of founding a Free-State town. They agreed to join with Polistra and Canton to make a new settlement named Boston, Kansas.
In June of that same year, a steamboat carrying settlers from Ohio ran aground in the Kansas River near the site of Boston. Though they had been headed 20 miles further upstream to the future site of Junction City, Kansas, the 75 passengers on the boat soon realized they were stranded. They agreed to join the town of Boston as long as it was renamed "Manhattan." The name was thus changed on June 29, 1855. The city would ultimately be incorporated on May 30, 1857.
Average high temperatures in Manhattan climb to 92 degrees Fahrenheit in July, and average lows drop as far as 15 degrees in January. The monthly precipitation average is 2.82 inches. Annual snowfall averages 20.7 inches.
11 public schools and 3 private schools provide education to area students. Higher education is offered locally by Kansas State
University as well as the private Manhattan Christian College and specialty institutions such as Manhattan Area Technical College, the American Institute of Baking and Crums Beauty College. Within an hour's drive, you can also reach Emporia State University and Washburn University of Topeka.
Memorial Hospital, Manhattan Surgical Hospital, LLC, and Mercy Health Center of Manhattan serve local health care needs.
Downtown Manhattan and the Manhattan Town Center Mall (located in the heart of downtown) serve collectively as the anchor for shopping & entertainment in the city. Art galleries, fine dining and a variety
of stores provide draws to the area.
The athletic teams of Kansas State University are a - and perhaps even THE - major source of entertainment in Manhattan. The
university sponsors wildcat teams in football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, tennis, golf, rowing, track, cross-country running and even equestrian competitions.
Aggieville is another attraction that has its roots based in Kansas State University. This is the name given to 6 square blocks of town that consist of restaurants, shops and college-oriented bars. The
name is derived from what was the school's mascot when the area first cropped up, during the time when fans cheered on the "Aggies" of the Kansas State Agricultural College. Even when the school's mascot was changed to the Kansas State Wildcats, the name "Aggieville" stuck.
Tuttle Creek State Park and Tuttle Creek Lake are just 5 miles north of the Manhattan city limits. The lake offers 100 miles of shoreline and 12,000 acres of water. Over 16,000 acres surrounding the lake have been enhanced to benefit wildlife and provide prime hunting opportunities.
Fishing for channel and flathead catfish is excellent on the water, and a fair number of bass call the lake home, too. The park is also host to boat ramps, courtesy docks, 7 cabins, a swimming beach, trails, a disk golf course, volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, a shooting range and more.
The opportunities in and around Manhattan don't stop there. If you're ready to take a bite of "The Little Apple" for yourself,
contact us to get more information on the area and the properties we have
available. We promise to do everything in our power to make your real estate dreams a reality.
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