Manchester History Center

The Manchester Historical Society's Old Manchester Museum is located  next to Washington School. From 1859-1914, the building rested on a hill west of Pine Street and north of "School Street" (now called Cooper Hill Street). The building was known as Cheney School, built by the Cheney family, whose name garnered world-wide fame for its silk. The school had two rooms on either side of a central hall with the boys' entrance on the right and the girls' entrance on the left.

In 1914, the entire building was lifted up and moved onto new foundations on Cedar Street to make room for Cheney Brothers' new dye house. The building has been used at various times for a day care center, storage building, paint shop, emergency three-level school with a kitchen/cafeteria in the basement, and a children's museum. In 1985, after hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, it became our Museum of Local History.

Inside the museum, visitors learn that Manchester was not just Cheneyville, but rather a historically diverse community with widespread commerce and industry. Our exhibits reflect the diversity of Manchester, including maps with Native American trails; Cheney exhibits; mid-1800s dresses and furniture; "School House" corner; silverware and china; a pharmacy and medicine exhibit; the Manchester Sports Hall of Fame; Spencer and Springfield Rifle exhibits; and changing exhibits.

The Museum also houses a research facility with over 75 separate collections and master files where researchers can view historic paperwork on particular subjects; war records from the Revolutionary, Civil and Spanish wars, WWI and WWII, and Vietnam war; as well as many genealogy records. The research facility is not open on Sundays.