The town was founded to be the seat of the newly formed Clay Co. in 1807 on a parcel near the Lower Goose Creek Salt Works. The county court stipulated that the town be named Greenville in honor of the War-of-1812 general who gave the county its name. The Greenville in Muhlenberg County had already preëmpted that name, however, and it was changed to "Manchester" in December. There was a local legend in the town that this was in honor of the hometown of Gen. Garrard's second wife Lucy Lees, but a prominent local family, the Hollingsworth, were originally from Manchester, England. Rennick points out that Lucy Lees was born well after the naming of the city. He opines that it is more likely that the local businessmen simply wanted a name evocative of the English industrial success.