Nestled in the heart of Manhattan is Kansas’ oldest shopping district. It is riddled with signs of college life and a thriving community. An assortment of bars, restaurants and local shops line a street that never sleeps.
    Aggieville has been a K-State tradition for more than a century. As the university has grown and developed, so has this historic district. To the residents of Manhattan, Aggieville is more than just an area to shop or dine; it is a place to indulge in history.
    The Riley County Historical Museum contains many historical documents like newspapers that trace Aggieville’s history.

IN THE BEGINNING
     In the late 1800s, George W. Evans built a small frame building on Manhattan Ave. — just north of Moro — and turned that building into a laundromat. This would become the beginning of Aggieville.
    J. W. Evans, George’s son, would recount this beginning time and time again in the 1945 issues of the Morning Chronicle. At the time the laundromat was created, the Manhattan population was a mere 1,750 individuals and 58 houses were scattered throughout the area.
    “There were farms in the area, and sometimes the people that had farms would run out of room for students,” said Dan Walter, appointed Aggieville historian. “It depends on what you call a business. In terms of retail, the laundromat is credited with being the first business.”
    Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science could be seen in the distance, with Anderson Hall towering above the horizon. The path was muddy, and the Aggieville area was labeled a “swamp land,” rarely visited by students or residents.
    Soon after the laundromat moved into the area, a grocery store followed. By 1902, Aggieville had four buildings: the laundromat, grocery store, boarding club and a shed housing a bakery.
    This was just the foundation upon which a new community would be built.

100-YEAR FLASHBACK
    The Students Co-operative had just voted to build a bookstore on the northeast corner of Manhattan and Moro Street in 1908. The plan was to create a bookstore that was fireproof and would include a restaurant. William Hopper purchased the contract to build the first bookstore in a nearly desolate area for $300.
    In 1909, an article titled “Steady Growth” in the Manhattan Nationalist told of Aggieville’s expansion with “its new meat market, its two grocery stores, two restaurants, one book store and two barber shops.”
    With this growth, the merchants of Aggieville became anxious to see paved roads in the area. They knew paved roads would bring greater foot traffic to the area.
    Their persistence for growth did not immediately bring paved streets, but business boomed within the next year as several more stores greeted the vicinity. In 1913, Aggieville was home to 22 shops, including four grocery stores, two book stores, one candy-ice cream shop, two restaurants, two tailorshops and a clothing store.
    “Between 1910 and 1920 is when Aggieville really took off,” Walter said. “There were people coming to the area for business, and in 1915, some of the business owners got together and formed the Aggieville Commercial Club, which is comparable to the Chamber of Commerce for Aggieville interest. Rather than developing it as a faculty housing area, the corner was turned into a retail area.”
    Soon, more convenient transportation entered the area as a trolley ran on tracks through the center of Aggieville. With an influx in business and community interest, Aggieville began to be acknowledged as an intricate part of the community and college. A 1929 Manhattan Mercury article even defined Aggieville as “a village by itself.”

50-YEAR FLASHBACK
    With the return of military personnel from World War II, Aggieville boomed. Not only were more people living in the Manhattan region, but a flood in 1951 also left the downtown of Manhattan unusable for a period of time in which Aggieville was able to become the premier shopping center.
    “When the GIs came back, there were just a lot of people to serve and business flourished,” Walter said. “The ‘50s was a very prosperous time for Aggieville. It was a full-service shopping center. There was a wide variety of businesses in the area, and you could do all of your shopping here.
    “At some of the restaurants, the lunch trade was very important to them, and they had limited seating so you could only stay for a limited time. We wouldn’t put up with that these days,” Walter said.
    “They tried to get people up and out and serve good, full meals at reasonable prices. It wasn’t until the early ‘60s that you started to see the emergence of fast food — pizza and burgers.”
    The fast-food craze became so strong in the 1960s that hamburgers were six for a dollar and the hottest new place to eat was Pizza Hut, which still graces Aggieville today and is known as the world’s oldest continually-operated franchise.
   
25-YEAR FLASHBACK
    To continue interest in this bustling shopping center, the mayor of Manhattan created a Signage Program in 1986. The Signage Program would introduce a slew of new signs and banners designed to add “an extra dash of color” to the atmosphere.
    Apparently, the signs and banners did catch the eyes of passersby, and Varney’s, an

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essential building block of the area, found itself in need of expansion. Varney’s purchased the Dark Horse Tavern in 1989, and major expansion and remodeling was completed.
    Walters said that like the Dark Horse Tavern, many businesses in Aggieville found themselves disappearing as turnover rates heightened.
    “There is a lot of turnover in business, and I would guess that in any 30-year period, half the businesses come and go,” he said.
   
TODAY
    The Aggieville that Manhattan residents have come to know has undergone several changes since its beginnings as a single-frame building.
    As of this month, Junior Sicard of Junior’s Barber Shop in Aggieville has been a Manhattan resident and Aggieville barber for the last 50 years. For 47 years, Sicard has owned his own shop, and he has noticed that though the same basic retail exists, the atmosphere has lightened.
    “I suppose it’s just the regular changes just like everywhere else — it’s grown. I think it’s pretty much the same as it’s always been. We’ve got taverns, barber shops, clothing stores and restaurants,” Sicard said. “I think the atmosphere has changes yet. We went through the hippie days and stuff like that. I think it’s much calmer. I think more people like coming up here during the day than they used to.”
    One of the most important developing aspects of Aggieville is the welcoming of college students to the historical heart of Manhattan.
    “I suppose the student orientation is both important and unique to Aggieville. It is a student center for shopping and socializing,” Walter said. “Many people have had their shot at the American dream in Aggieville — starting their own business and watching it grow.
    “Typically, it takes a large amount of commitment to start any business, and Aggieville is no different. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into making these small businesses work.”
    Aggieville has been created one piece at a time. Business by business, student by student, the heart has grown and beats louder than ever before.