Manton is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in the central part of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, located on the western edge of Washington County

Washington County, Kentucky

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 10,916. Its county seat is Springfield. The county is named for George Washington. Washington County was the first county formed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky when it reached statehood...

 near the intersection of Marion

Marion County, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,212 people, 6,613 households, and 4,754 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,277 housing units at an average density of...

, Nelson

Nelson County, Kentucky

Nelson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 43,437. Its county seat is Bardstown. The county is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, and Washington counties. It was founded at least before 1844, when Holy Rosary Church

Holy Rosary Church (Manton, Kentucky)

Holy Rosary Church was a parish erected in 1844 in the small community of Manton in Washington County, Kentucky, United States. The church was built under the direction of the Dominicans.-Parish and worship space origination:...

 was founded. The cornerstone for the present church was laid November 2, 1844. Holy Rosary, a mission church, is a brick building on Hardin's Creek close to the Beech Fork

Beech Fork

The Beech Fork, or Beech Fork River, is a river in central Kentucky in the United States. It is a tributary of the Rolling Fork of the Salt River, with its waters flowing eventually to the Ohio River and ultimately the Mississippi River....

 River.

This village was once known as Blincoe as is identified as such in the 1896 Kentucky Gazetteer

Gazetteer

A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...

. Richard Blincoe was a resident at that time. It was known as Blincoe until (at least) the mid-1900s, as it appears on as such on the 1949 official Kentucky highway map for Washington County. The town name Manton is derived from the two family names "Mandt" and "Harrington." William Frederick Mandt owned several coal mines in eastern Kentucky and was married to Mary Ann Harrington.

Newton’s Grocery has been located at this site for over 80 years. Once a general store

General store

A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

 serving the area and community, it is now more like a convenience store

Convenience store

A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...

.

Geography

Manton is located at (37.714722, -85.35827). The elevation is 530 feet (161.5 m) above sea level. The community is located along Route 605, near where the Cisselville road intersects. It is a few miles north of Loretto

Loretto, Kentucky

Loretto is a city in Marion County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 623 at the 2000 census. The tiny city is best known as the home of the Maker's Mark bourbon distillery.-Geography:Loretto is located at ....

 where Maker's Mark

Maker's Mark

Maker’s Mark is a small batch bourbon whiskey that is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky by Beam Inc.. It is sold in distinctively squarish bottles, which are sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.- History...

 whiskey is distilled.

History

There was a station house on the Beech Fork, a small river, where farmers would store their cattle and produce. In the springtime these waters would flood, providing a waterway which lead first to the Salt River

Salt River (Kentucky)

The Salt River is a river in Kentucky that drains . It begins near Danville, Kentucky, rising from the north slope of Persimmon Knob south of KY 300 between Alum Springs and Wilsonville, and ends at the Ohio River near West Point...

, then to the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

 and thence by flatboat

Flatboat

Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...

 the boatsmen could make their way to New Orleans.

Some companies of men from the Tenth Kentucky Infantry

10th Regiment Kentucky Volunteer Infantry

The 10th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 10th Kentucky Infantry was organized at Lebanon, Kentucky and mustered in for a three year enlistment on November 21, 1861.The regiment was attached to 2nd...

 were mustered into Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 service having come from the village of Manton. Most of the men from the Manton area were in Company G.

John Hunt Morgan

John Hunt Morgan

John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...

, the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

 raider

Morgan's Raid

Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...

, passed through this area on some of his raids into Kentucky. The town is also mentioned in the biography "Three Years in the Saddle - the Life and Confession of Henry C. Magruder" - "The original 'Sue Munday'" - "The Scourge of Kentucky".

The small community was once home to a distillery of Kentucky Bourbon

Bourbon whiskey

Bourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...

named Price and Thompson Distilleries, which closed in 1894.