Best Web Design in Manton, MI (2026)

Web Design for Manton, Michigan

Manton is a small city in northern Michigan's Wexford County, founded in 1872 as a railroad and lumber town and first known as Cedar Creek. It briefly held the Wexford County seat until 1882, when a whiskey-fueled Cadillac posse with a brass band physically seized the county records in the notorious 'Battle of Manton.' Today the town of about 1,258 people is best known for its century-old Labor Day Harvest Festival and a distinctive nearby Old Order Amish community.

AppWT serves Manton and the surrounding Michigan area from Livonia, Michigan.

About Manton

Also known as. Cedar Creek (the settlement's original name before the railroad renamed it). The lost county seat of Wexford County.

History. In 1872 the townsite was purchased and cleared along the planned Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad route by settlers Ezra Harger and George Manton with partner William Mears; it was known locally as Cedar Creek. The railroad renamed the station 'Manton' after the community's first postmaster, George Manton. By 1877 Manton had three hotels, five general stores, and two sawmills, later adding a pickle factory, flour mills, and more sawmills; it incorporated as a village that year and became a city in 1923. Manton won the Wexford County seat in an 1881 compromise between rival factions in Sherman and Cadillac. The Battle of Manton, April 5, 1882: after Cadillac won an April 4 relocation vote, a Cadillac sheriff and about twenty deputies rode a special train to Manton to grab the county records; residents drove them off when they tried to take the courthouse safes. The posse returned in force with several hundred lumbermen, a supply of whiskey, and a brass band, broke through the barricaded courthouse's doors and windows, seized the documents, and carried the county seat off to Cadillac, leaving injuries and lasting hard feelings.

Local economy. Manton's roots are in lumber and farming; an early account described the town plat as 'situated in the midst of a splendid farming country.' Early industry included multiple sawmills, a pickle factory, and flour mills. Manton Consolidated Schools, which spans parts of Wexford and Missaukee counties (about 954 students and roughly 138 staff in 2024), is a major local employer. The city is served by US-131 (a freeway with a downtown business loop) and M-42, keeping it connected on the Cadillac-to-Traverse City corridor.

Culture and community. The Manton Area Harvest Festival, held since 1924 over Labor Day weekend, is one of the area's largest events, centered at the Manton Station on Wall Street. Festival attractions include a large downtown parade, carnival rides on the midway, a craft show, kids' games, a petting zoo, a hot dog eating contest, a cornhole tournament, and live music. An Old Order Amish community was established near Manton in 1993, drawing members mainly from other Michigan settlements. The Manton Amish community is unusually open to 'seekers' (outsiders wanting to join the Amish) and is affiliated with a community in Smyrna, Maine.

What makes Manton distinct. Manton lost its status as county seat by literal force: an armed, whiskey-fueled posse with a brass band broke into the courthouse and hauled the records to Cadillac. The town was originally called Cedar Creek and was renamed for its first postmaster, George Manton, by the railroad. Its nearby Old Order Amish settlement is atypically welcoming to outside 'seekers,' something most Amish communities discourage. The Harvest Festival has run since 1924, making it a century-old tradition in a city of only about 1,258 people.

Manton Landmarks and Local Life

• Manton Station on Wall Street - the historic railroad-era depot area that anchors the Harvest Festival
• The downtown business district along Business US-131.
• The Battle of Manton state historical marker commemorating the 1882 county-seat raid.
• The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad corridor that gave the town its start.