North Manchester

Small Town Breakdown

North Manchester is the birthplace of a U.S. Vice President, home to Manchester University, and sits along one of Indiana’s most scenic rivers.

Fast Facts

📍LOCATION: North-central Indiana

• North Manchester is in the northeast quadrant of Wabash County.

• State Road 13 runs north-south and bypasses the downtown area to the west, connecting the town to Wabash in the south and Pierceton to the north.

• State Road 114 runs east-west through the heart of town and connects it to Akron and Rochester to the west and east to Luther and U.S. Highway 24, which connects to I-69 leading to Fort Wayne.

• Two hours north of downtown Indianapolis

• 45 minutes west of Fort Wayne

• One hour and 20 minutes south of South Bend

👥 POPULATION & RANKING

• 5,237 residents (as of 2024)

• Ranks as Indiana’s 137th-largest town/city

• Second-largest incorporated town/city in Wabash County behind the seat of Wabash (10,275).

📏 LAND AREA

• 3.55 square miles

📅 FOUNDED

• Wabash County was initially formed in 1820 but wasn’t organized until 1835 from parts of the original county created after the Treaty of St. Mary's.

• Brothers Peter and John Ogan purchased land in Wabash County in 1835.

• Peter is credited as the founder of North Manchester after platting the town in the mid-1830s.

• It was named after Manchester, England.

• It became incorporated in 1874.

• In the early 1900s, North Manchester had its own automobile manufacturer called the DeWitt Motor Company.

🏥 MAIN INDUSTRIES: Manufacturing, Educational

• Manchester Tool & Die, Inc. is a 65,000-square-foot facility that designs and builds custom tube end forming, grooving, swaging, and crimping machines.

• Intertech Products, Inc. serves the automotive/transportation and industrial packaging industries with compression molding, die cutting, assembly and extrusion coating/laminating.

Governor and Vice President

Thomas Riley Marshall was born in North Manchester on March 14, 1854. He went on to become the 27th Governor of Indiana from 1909 to 1913 and the 28th Vice President of the United States under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1921. He was just the third VP at the time to serve two full terms, joining John Adams (1789–97) and Daniel Tompkins (1817–25). Marshall is best remembered for his overall wit and famous quip, "What this country needs is a really good five-cent cigar."

Manchester University

Manchester University has been a staple in North Manchester since the 1860s. They recently built a literacy lab where kids from the local community can receive free tutoring, and they also have a new football field to show off this fall.

More changes are coming to Manchester University and North Manchester as well thanks to a $12.1 million grant they received through Lilly Endowment’s College and Community Collaboration initiative. The funds will go toward the College Row housing development, which includes 20 townhouse-style units, the Manchester Mile that connects downtown to campus, and the Eel River Commons, complete with a bridge across the river and a community space for lectures, programs, festivals, and entertainment.

And here’s an interesting fact: On February 1, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech titled “The Future of Integration” on Manchester’s campus. It was his last speech on a college campus.

The North Manchester Menu

Tenderloin lovers have plenty of options to choose from in town, and Nate Spangle did a taste test for four locations.

Mr. Dave’s has a thick version, The Crystal Main Street Grill has the most seasoning, the chain Beef-a-Roo has good breading, and The Inn Pub & Grill has the best hand-breaded tenderloin.

The Inn Pub & Grill is the go-to spot for a night out in North Manchester. In addition to comfort food and prime rib as another featured item, there’s pool, darts, a jukebox, and occasionally live music and karaoke on weekends. 

For lunch or dinner, Sandwich Cellar serves sandwiches and pizza and is open seven days a week.

And for dessert, Chillz Delights is the place to be. Donuts, ice cream, and so much more. They’ve got 4.8 stars on Google and just recently expanded operations to Fort Wayne.

Things to Do in North Manchester

Check out the North Manchester Covered Bridge, one of only two remaining covered bridges in Wabash County along with the Roann Covered Bridge. It was built in 1872 by the Smith Bridge Company out of Toledo, Ohio, repaired in 1977, and underwent a $724,000 rehabilitation project in 2013. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

If you want to get out on the Eel River, Ride the Eel Kayak Experience is the best local option to do so.

You can also enjoy community events like the Eel River Farmers Market, held every Saturday from May through October, and the Eel River Music Fest, which includes a parade, car show and bike show, pickleball tournament, food vendors, and more.

Squires on the Diamond and Court

Manchester High School is home of the Squires, and they have won two IHSAA state titles in school history.

First, the baseball team went on an improbable run to the 2A state title in 2002, defeating Batesville 9-8 at Victory Field. They started the season losing 13 of their first 17 games and became just the second school in IHSAA sports history to win state while finishing the season with a sub-.500 record. The Squires ended the campaign 14-16 and joined 2000 1A baseball state champion Rossville (16-17) in the record books.

In 2025, boys basketball brought home the 2A state championship with a 59-54 victory over University to cap off a 26-2 season. The Squires trailed by three points with just under four minutes remaining in the game but leaned on 21-point performances by Ethan Hendrix and Gavin Betten to secure the win.

Check out Nate’s breakdown of North Manchester ⬇️