Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Friday, October 18, 2024
Manly's Junction. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Now is the time to make a plan. Whether you plan to vote absentee by mail in person at your County Auditor's Office before Election Day or at your polling place on November 5th, it's important you take steps now to make your plan at voterready.iowa.gov. Remember Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Find more information at voterready.iowa.gov. This message presented by the Iowa Secretary of State. It's one of the most unique city names in America. While every state except Hawaii has a town named Greenville, there's only one city in the country called Manly. That city is located in Worth County, 16 miles south of the Minnesota border. At the junction of US Highway 65 and Iowa Highway 9. And the city has a history of being at a junction. In 1877, the Burlington Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad, the BCR and N, joined the Central of Iowa track with its own track from Plymouth Junction. The site was named Manly Junction. Now, while it would make for a good story to suggest that the town got its name because of the strong and hearty males who lived in the region, it actually was called that because the Central of Iowa's freight agent was named J.C. Manly. So the junction of the two rail lines was naturally Manly Junction. On October 18th, 1898, Manly Junction was officially incorporated as a town, and its name was shortened to simply Manly. Then, under the new State of Iowa Home Rule Act, the town of Manly officially became the city of Manly in August 1973. The city has a total area of just under one and a half miles, and boasts around 1,250 citizens. Students in the Central Springs District attend school in Manly for preschool through third grade and again from eighth through twelfth grade. Ironically, there are now 52% women and only 48% men living there. But no matter, the town of Manly was incorporated on this date in 1898, and that's Iowa Almanac for October 18th. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @IowaAlmanac. Until Monday, I'm Jeff Stein.