[8] In 1855, the South Carolina Legislature appointed a group of commissioners to select and purchase a tract of land for "the Village of Manning" in the newly formed Clarendon County.

According to the Watchmen, a local newspaper of the time, "the Legislature (had) granted a bill of divorce between Clarendon and Claremont (Sumter).

"[citation needed] Thirteen men were named as commissioners to select and acquire from 6 to 60 acres (2.4 to 24.3 ha) on which to lay out the new courthouse village: R. C. Baker, L. F. Rhame, J. C. Brock, W. W. Owens, Joseph Sprott, J. C. Burgess, M. T. Brogdon, J. J. Nelson, Samuel A. Burgess, J. J. McFadden, Jesse Hill, R. R. Haynsworth, and P. S. Worsham.

B. Brogdon, J. J. Conyers, and William A. Burgess, were later named when it came time to erect the courthouse and jail from a state appropriation of $18,000, plus whatever funds might be realized from the sale of lots.

The site for the village was presented to the state by Captain Joseph Copley Burgess, and the Plat of Manning was prepared and filed in Sumter County Courthouse.

[citation needed] Manning's Post Office was established in 1856, and Thomas S. Coogler was appointed as the first Postmaster.

A large portion of the original town, including the courthouse, was destroyed in the Civil War in 1865 during what is known as "Potter's Raid".

This raid by Union troops took place only a few days before Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

[citation needed] As early as 1960 Manning was one of many towns across the South for the staging of peaceful Civil Rights demonstrations and sit-ins.

Unlike in some other areas, the demonstrations in Manning occurred without significant incident, but helped belie the local media's message that black Carolinians accepted the status quo.

Manning and the surrounding region was still adjusting to the decisions handed down in the Briggs v. Elliott and Brown v. Board of Education rulings against racial segregation in schools.

Many homes, businesses, garages, trees, power poles and lines, and vehicles were damaged, some heavily.

It is part of South Carolina's 6th congressional district which since January 1993 has been represented by Jim Clyburn.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Manning has a total area of 2.76 square miles (7.15 km2), all land.