Lewisberry, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Lewisberry is a borough in York County
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 362 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Lewisberry is located at 40°8′7"N 76°51′38"W (40.135300, -76.860504).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²), all of it land.

Ski Roundtop is located 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Lewisberry.

Early settlement

The lands in and around the borough of Lewisberry were under control of the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...

 people until the first Quaker settlements in the 1730s. These settlements were among the first Quaker settlements in America west of the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

. Among the group of original titleholders along the small creek that would become known as Bennett Run were Ellis Lewis, Joseph Bennett, John Heald, and John Hall. At this time, the area that would become York County was still almost entirely populated by the Susquehannock Indians. Yet there are few recorded conflicts between these early settlers and the native population. In this area that would later become majority Pennsylvania German, the first and second waves of settlers were almost entirely English speakers and included the Kirks, Rankins, Huttons, Garetsons, Nebingers, Eppleys, Starrs, Fosters, Clines, Stromingers, Moores, Frankelbergers, Suttons, Wickershams, Prowells, Millers, and Hammonds. While most were Quakers, a significant minority were Anglicans. The Quaker meeting house at the intersection of Old Quaker and Lewisberry roads (PA 382
Pennsylvania Route 382
Pennsylvania Route 382 is an long state highway located in York county in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 114 near Bunches. The eastern terminus is at PA 181 in York Haven.-Route description:...

) is the original Quaker meeting house in the area.

Founding of borough

The borough's founder, Eli Lewis, was born nearby in 1750, the son of one of the original settlers, Ellis Lewis. On the eve of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, Eli opened a store on the site of the current borough. Lewis and members of other prominent families in the area served in the Pennsylvania militia, and Eli rose to the rank of major. Over the course of the war, the town became known for producing guns, and the Committee of Safety
Committee of Safety (American Revolution)
Many Committees of Safety were established throughout Colonial America at the start of the American Revolution. These committees started to appear in the 1760s as means to discuss the concerns of the time, and often consisted of every male adult in the community...

 for York County contracted with area gunsmiths to supply the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

; guns made in Lewisberry were in use by the US Army as late as the Siege of Veracruz
Siege of Veracruz
The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz, during the Mexican-American War. Lasting from 9-29 March 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States military forces, and ended with the surrender and occupation...

 during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

 of 1846. Following the Revolutionary War, Lewis' fortune grew (and he eventually owned 850 acres in the area) and his store was the center of commerce in the Redland Valley. In 1798, Issac Kirk surveyed twelve acres of land and laid out lots for Lewis, who wanted a town to exist on the site. While all of the lots were not immediately sold, many were, and the town began a modest growth. Between 1790 and 1798, Major Lewis had lived in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, where he took up printing and published the first Harrisburg newspaper, The Advertiser, which was then sold to John Wyeth, who renamed it The Oracle of Dauphin
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...

. While living in Harrisburg, Lewis also published the popular poem, "St. Clair's Defeat," which described the defeat of Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...

 by the tribes of the Western Confederacy
Western Confederacy
The Western Confederacy, also known as Western Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of North American Natives in the Great Lakes region following the American Revolutionary War...

 during the Battle of the Wabash
St. Clair's Defeat
St. Clair's Defeat also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was fought on November 4, 1791 in the Northwest Territory between the United States and the Western Confederacy of American Indians, as part of the Northwest Indian War...

.

Incorporation and growth

Lewisberry was not incorporated until 1832, fifty years later, and the first census figures of 1840 show a population of 220. In 1800, Henry Ensminger opened a large tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...

 just south of town that was later owned and operated by Samuel Grove. More significant for the town's growth was John Herman, who built a large flour mill on the west side of the borough. But the town's most successful operator was Andrew Cline, who ran a large and successful milling business during the second half of the 19th century. The mill and house are still standing just outside of the borough beside Silver Lake, which was created to power the mill. One of Lewisberry's most important small industries during the 19th and early 20th centuries was the manufacture of block brimstone
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

 matches, and the families of Lyman Lewis, Herman Kirk, Moses Magrew, Rt. Starr, and Lyman Shettle became prosperous through this industry.

In the early 19th century, Joseph Potts manufactured the area's first coffee mills out of his home. This industry grew under his children, and by the middle of the century, Lewisberry was producing large numbers of coffee grinders in a small factory near the Quaker meeting house. In 1835, William Smith started a newspaper in the bustling town. In 1837, Lewisberry native Hervey Hammond began manufacture of the patented Hammond window sash spring, and in 1838, President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

 installed Hammond springs in all of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...

's windows.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 385 people, 146 households, and 102 families residing in the borough. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,892.4 people per square mile (1,143.5/km²). There were 150 housing units at an average density of 1,126.9 per square mile (445.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.40% White, 1.82% African American, 0.26% Asian, 0.26% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.

There were 146 households out of which 43.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the borough the population was spread out with 30.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 13.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $49,844, and the median income for a family was $58,125. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $27,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the borough was $16,147. About 4.5% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.

Gravity Hill

The intersection of Pennsylvania Route 177
Pennsylvania Route 177
Pennsylvania Route 177 is an long state highway located in York county in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is an intersection with PA 74 and Township Route 4026 in Rossville. From this intersection, PA 177 bisects the southwestern portion of Pinchot Lake and continues along the northwestern...

 and Pleasant View Road near the borough is said to allow an automobile in neutral to drift uphill. Legend says that ghost children once killed in a bus accident push the car uphill to prevent similar accidents. The phenomenon is, of course, just an illusion. To reach this "Gravity Hill
Gravity hill
A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill , is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope...

", take Route 83 north; get off at the Lewisberry exit and turn right. At the next stop sign, turn right again. Keep going straight. You will soon reach Pleasant View Road.

External links

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