Incorporated towns and cities are governed and operated under the jurisdiction of the laws of the state. The needs of the community are then governed according to the ordinances created and enacted by the Town Council as the legal authority to govern. In the early history of Manning some ordinances seem unbelievable for use now in the modern state of our history, one hundred years later. But they did the best they had to work with at that time and each ordinance created a growing improvement and Manning continued yearly to become the fine, modern town we are honoring at its Centennial.

For those interested in Manning's past government, and for the benefit -- of posterity, Mrs. Regilda (Hoffmann) Fraser presents this article after gleaning information from 3,500 pages of Council proceedings covering the past 100 years:

Manning, Iowa was incorporated in August, 1881 with a population of 414. The first Town Council met May 15, 1882, following their election March 10, 1882. Elected were I.W. Callamore, Mayor; George C. Hunt, Recorder; Byron Whealean, Assessor; and Councilmen J.M. Turner, N.F. Spear, P.A. Emery, M. Hoffman, J.L. McQuail, and R.T. Tidd. The introduction and enactment of the first 23 ordinances covered the following titles: city boundaries; provisions for an election of a treasurer; defining duties and compensation of all officers; time to hold Council meetings with provisions for special meetings; regulating licenses for theatres and shows; regulating licenses for billiard and pool tables, pin and bowling alleys and shooting galleries; licensing of auctioneers, transient merchants and peddlers; sale of beer and wine; punishment of nuisances; protection of property against fire; restraining of stock from running at large; licensing of drays and teamsters; providing for hitching any animal of burden; dog taxes; requiring certain residents to perform labor on streets and alleys; governing obstructions to streets and alleys; establishing grades on streets and defining the punishment for certain offenses.

The Council continued to meet on May 16-17-18-19-22 and 25 for formulating and reading the ordinances at three consecutive meetings, act upon and adopt them. The proceedings were to be published in the Manning Monitor.

At a meeting May 25, 1882, Hyman Chapman was appointed the first Marshal and O.E. Dutton the first Treasurer. At a special meeting June 15, quarantine regulations for smallpox were formulated and adopted, and Dr. R.R. Williams was appointed the town physician. Since there were few vaccines at that time, it was decided to keep patients in a 1h block of temporary buildings downtown and house all those with smallpox there and thus isolate them as much as possible. Nurses were there and the Marshal saw that regulations were enforced. Marshal Chapman was appointed Street Commissioner June 16, 1882.

On August 14, 1882, the Council considered the offer of the Milwaukee Railroad to build a depot in Manning. A special election was held September 5, for bonding the town for $5,000.00 to buy land to be donated to the said railroad company for the depot, stock lands and such other purposes necessary. Voters approved the measure and bonds were signed September 9, 1882.

Mayor Callamore resigned August 21 and J.M. Turner was appointed Mayor pro-tem. J.B. Ingledue was then elected Mayor to fill the unexpired term. November 6, the Council ordered sidewalks built on both sides of Main Street to the depot grounds.

Ten acres of land for a Manning cemetery were purchased by the town on February 5, 1883, for $45 an acre and the following day, the required three readings of an ordinance was suspended so interment proceedings could be enacted immediately.

March 12, 1883, newly elected Mayor J.B. Ingledue, and Councilmen George Hunt, Val Roush (Recorder), V.L. Patton, E.M. Funk, Ely Sharp and William Schoop held their meeting. In April they resolved that new walks be laid on Main Street to be made of 2-inch pine lumber 12-feet wide on 2 x 6 stringers. J.W. Marten replaced Ingledue as Mayor April 16. In May, 4 foot wide board walks were laid for residences and 35 dog licenses were sold by that time. The Mayor was also authorized to purchase a cot and blankets for the jail. Thus ended one full year of our first Town Council's accomplishments.