While most towns in Lancaster County developed from road stops for weary travelers, Manheim was established as a worthy destination from the outset.

The town of Manheim was founded by German immigrant and ironmaster Henry William Stiegel in 1750. Stiegal worked as a clerk at the Elizabeth Furnace in northern Lancaster County, before acquiring title to the land he would establish as the town of Manheim, named for an area in Germany where he grew up. Among the residents of Manheim, Stiegel became known as the "Baron" due to his lavish and eccentric lifestyle. Stiegel built a large home on Market Square and it is said that he travelled through town in a luxurious carriage drawn by 4 horses. Upon reaching his home each evening, history books tell us that a watchman sounded a canon and a band played to celebrate his arrival.

Stiegel envisioned Manheim as an industrial town and setup the American Flint Glass Manufactory in 1764. Using European glassmakers, the manufactory produced beautiful molded, enameled and engraved glass, decorated in typical Pennsylvania German motifs. The factory failed in 1774, however the glass produced there is still highly prized and collectible even today over 200 years later.

The strain of the American Revolution, combined with Stiegel's lavish spending were catastrophic to Stiegel's finances. He suffered major losses, served time in debtor's prison and was eventually reduced to working as a clerk in the furnace he once owned. He never regained his earlier wealth.

Despite Stiegel's setbacks, the town of Manheim continued to prosper without him. In the early years, Stiegel had established schools, supported a town band and donated property for the construction of the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Most of Manheim's buildings are frame or brick construction highlighting late Victorian and early 20th century architecture from the Italianate, Eastlake, Second Empire and Renaissance styles.

Between 1800 and the end of the Civil War, Manheim did fulfill Stiegel's dream, and flourished as an industrial center. Bricks, hats and grandfather clocks were the leading products manufactured in Manheim. The town continued to maintain its self-reliance due to the work of many skilled craftsmen including a coopersmith, tanners, potters, blacksmiths and wagon workers.

In 1862, The Columbia Reading Railroad came to Manheim to provide reliable transportation for products manufactured there. The American House Railroad Hotel, now The Cat's Meow restaurant was built in 1869 to handle passengers that travelled to Manheim for business and pleasure. The town continued to flourish as an industrial base well in the 20th century, but its development was slowed by the Depression in the 1930s.

Today Manheim is home to the largest auto auction in the United States and continues to serve as a trading center for farmers along bustling Route 72.