Manchester Treasures

When my wife Carole and I joined the Old Trails Historical Society in 2010, I was approached by a member, asking me if I could take pictures of the old houses on Manchester Road. She wanted the pictures on a CD so that she could make a presentation at one of the local schools. I agreed, and before long my wife Carole and I were traipsing up and down Manchester Road taking pictures of the old historic homes. The CD was finished, and I thought that would be the end of that. Well, it wasn't. Being an amateur historian, I began to ask if there were other historic homes that we had missed. There were! Not only homes, but springs, creeks, caves, Indian mounds, and hidden cemeteries.

At the same time, Carole and I were also tasked by the Historic Society to begin an inventory of all items in the historic 1835 Bacon Log Cabin, which is located a scant block away from our house. I was given the lofty title of "Property Master of the Bacon Log Cabin," and was given the keys to that most venerable place. In going through some of the artifacts in the log cabin I discovered more interesting information about the City of Manchester. I was bitten by the history bug. I needed to know more.

I noted that there had been many histories written about Manchester City and its early beginnings. When it came time to decide to write this book, I felt that it was not necessary to repeat information already available. My wife and I decided to write a picture book instead, interspersed with snippets of the area history. Again we took more pictures of homes, churches, cemeteries, parks, etc. and organized them as you see them in this book. In some cases, the pictures and short stories of people who lived in these old homes have been included. In other cases, older residents of Manchester were interviewed and some of their memoirs have also been included separately, with their permission. During these processes, we made many new friends.

Please note the lack of consistency in the spelling of some names. The names are spelled here the way they were spelled in the various sources referenced. Where addresses of homes have been changed, both the new and the old addresses are shown with the old address in square brackets.

From its beginnings in the 1700's, as a small settlement called Hoardstown, to the current modern city of Manchester, much history has occurred. Sadly many of the old homes, many of them log cabins and log houses, have been destroyed in the name of progress. Thanks to the Old Trails Historic Society and to the many historic minded people in Manchester, enough has been preserved for our use as a tie, back to its beginnings. Many people have contributed in making Manchester a great city. The stories of a few of them are enclosed in this book.

Many thanks to all true historians who contributed to, and who supported this endeavor.

Frank & Carole Masotto
Ballwin, Missouri 63011
October 13, 2013