Manor

Manor is an incorporated community on U.S. Highway 290 twelve miles northeast of Austin in northeastern Travis County. A post office called Grassdale opened there in 1859 with James Manor as postmaster, but it was discontinued in 1860. A post office called Gregg was established in 1871 but changed its name to Manor the next year in honor of James Manor. The Houston and Texas Central Railway was built through the town in 1871, giving residents easy access to markets. By the mid-1880s Manor had a district school, three churches, six general stores, and a population of 125. Cotton, cottonseed, and grain were the principal commodities shipped from the area. The community grew rapidly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with population estimates reaching 500 by 1892 and 900 by 1914. In the late 1920s Manor had 1,000 residents, but the onset of the Great Depression led to a decline. When the community was incorporated in the early 1930s, it reported only 654 residents. In spite of the general economic decline, however, Manor continued to serve as a commercial center for area farmers, many of whom used the railroad to ship livestock and dairy products. The population of Manor rose to 688 by the 1940s, to 813 by the 1950s, and to 940 by the 1970s. In 1988 Manor had 1,233 residents and sixty-two businesses. In 1990 its population was reported as 1,041. The population increased to 1,204 by 2000.