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History · Arendtsville

Arendtsville dates to 1810, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1880.

1810founded
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Arendtsville began

When was Arendtsville founded?

1810

Arendtsville dates its founding to 1810 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 248 in 18802020 census: 867216 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1841.

What stands out about Arendtsville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Arendtsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19096 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1990. Watch Arendtsville change.Old housesHalf of Arendtsville’s homes were built before 1951.Deep rootsEstablished in 1810: 216 years of Arendtsville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Arendtsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arendtsville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Arendtsville on the map, 1909 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arendtsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Arendtsville on the 1909 USGS mapArendtsville on the 1944 USGS mapArendtsville on the 1956 USGS mapArendtsville on the 1968 USGS mapArendtsville on the 1973 USGS mapArendtsville on the 1990 USGS map1909Fairfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arendtsville.

The story so far

Arendtsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Arendtsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Arendtsville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough lies on Pennsylvania Route 234 and is well known for its annual Apple Harvest Festival in the fall. The population was 867 at the 2020 census.

Arendtsville was established in 1810. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 952 to 867 (-9%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Arendtsville in 1886

Passages that mention Arendtsville, cut from the printed page as they were published.

der’s Church the traveler has to risk a crossing of some few swift running streams. In 1880 Camp erected a wooden bridge over the Great Conowago, on the road from Gettysburg to Newville, for $1,390. In 1857 Jonas Rouanzahn erected a wooden bridge across the Conowago on the Arendtsville and Bell’s M…
history of adams county pennsylvania.1886 · page 223Read the page →
Read the text

der’s Church the traveler has to risk a crossing of some few swift running streams. In 1880 Camp erected a wooden bridge over the Great Conowago, on the road from Gettysburg to Newville, for $1,390. In 1857 Jonas Rouanzahn erected a wooden bridge across the Conowago on the Arendtsville and Bell’s Mill road, for $1,120. In 1860 J. M. Pittenturf built a covered bridge »ver Opossum Creek, on the Arendtsville and East Berlin road, for $1, 100.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
mill. He died in 1804. The old mill was rebuilt for the heirs of William Bell, Sr. William Bell, Jy. rebuilt the saw-mill. A distillery stood here also which Andrew Bittinger operated for a number of years. Francis Knaus built the first grist-mill at Arendtsville in 1797. In 1812 Isaac Wierman purc…
history of adams county pennsylvania.1886 · page 255Read the page →
Read the text

mill. He died in 1804. The old mill was rebuilt for the heirs of William Bell, Sr. William Bell, Jy. rebuilt the saw-mill. A distillery stood here also which Andrew Bittinger operated for a number of years. Francis Knaus built the first grist-mill at Arendtsville in 1797. In 1812 Isaac Wierman purchased the mill and farm, rebuilt it in 1840 as a saw and grist-iill, and after the Wierman Bros. came into possession, in 1866, they added the shingle-mill and introduced submerged water-wheels.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Arendtsville, 1810 to 1909

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1810
    FoundingArendtsville is established
  3. 1841Post officeThe Arendtsville post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Arendtsville, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Arendtsville Zion UCC Adams Co PA2015Arendtsville Zion UCC Adams Co PA
People over time

Arendtsville, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 952

Between 248 and 952 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arendtsville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Arendtsville

Nobody well known was born in Arendtsville itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jeremiah MorrowAmerican politician · b. 1771
B
Brian Patrick ClarkeAmerican actor · b. 1952
Eddie PlankAmerican baseball player · b. 1875
John CovodeAmerican politician · b. 1808
J
Joseph LawrenceAmerican politician · b. 1786
William Addison DuncanAmerican politician · b. 1836
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Franklin TownshipIts storyBButler TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Arendtsville’s history

What year was Arendtsville founded?

In 1810, according to Wikidata. Arendtsville’s post office opened in 1841, and the census of 1880 counted 248 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.