About Manhattan

Manhattan is a city in, and the county seat of, Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 54,100.The city was founded by settlers from the New England Emigrant Aid Company as a Free-State town in the 1850s, during the Bleeding Kansas era. Nicknamed "The Little Apple" as a play on New York City's moniker of the "Big Apple", Manhattan is the home of Kansas State University and has a distinct college town atmosphere. == History == === Native American settlement === Before settlement by European-Americans in the 1850s, the land around Manhattan was home to Native American tribes.