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A−History
History · Camp Hill

Camp Hill dates to 1750, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #345 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1906 on, and the census since 1880.

1750founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Camp Hill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Camp Hill began

When was Camp Hill founded?

1750

Camp Hill dates its founding to 1750 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 467 in 18802020 census: 8,130276 years

How historic is Camp Hill?

A−

More historic than 78% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Camp Hill’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Camp Hill is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #345 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Camp Hill’s overall grade.
Founding era1750, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194026.7% of homes (±5.1) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 78%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 67%

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Camp Hill’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1750.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Camp Hill’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19067 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1999. Watch Camp Hill change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1750, 26 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Camp Hill’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewChurch of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Camp Hill, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00018801900192019401960198020002020467 in 1880Low: 191

Lost half of its people between 1880 and 1890, then grew more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Camp Hill on the map, 1906 to 1999

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

Camp Hill on the 1906 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1943 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1956 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1963 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1972 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1987 USGS mapCamp Hill on the 1999 USGS map1906New Cumberland 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 Camp Hill.

The story

How Camp Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Camp Hill.

Read it all →

Camp Hill was previously referred to by several names, including Hendricks, Fort Pleasant, Oysters Point, Bowmanstown, and White Hall. The name "Camp Hill" is believed to have originated from a split in the congregation of the Peace Church, located west of the current borough. One faction of the church, led by John Winebrenner, began meeting outdoors on a hill, leading to the area being referred to as "Camp Hill." Dr. John D. Bowman, the first postmaster of the village, officially gave it the name Camp Hill in 1869.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Camp Hill, 1750 to 1976

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1750
    FoundingCamp Hill is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1867Post officeThe Camp Hill post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1906On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1930In the archiveChurch of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (87429)
  8. 1943Born hereCarol Rittner is born here
  9. 1948Born herePark Dietz is born here
  10. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 9,931
  11. 1972Born hereKyle Brady is born here
  12. 1976Born hereDanielle Fotopoulos is born here
By decade

Camp Hill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s3 items
Church of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (87429)c. 1930Church of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania …The Camp Hill National Bank (84212)c. 1930The Camp Hill National Bank (84212)White Hall, 3310 Market Street, Camp Hill, Penna (82146)c. 1930White Hall, 3310 Market Street, Camp Hill, Penna (821…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Siebert Park, Camp Hill, PA, July 20252025Siebert Park, Camp Hill, PA, July 2025Camp Hill Office, Camp Hill, PA, July 20252025Camp Hill Office, Camp Hill, PA, July 2025CCHS Fall 2021 (Credit Elijah Epps)2021CCHS Fall 2021 (Credit Elijah Epps)
Every building

Camp Hill, building by building, 1923

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Camp Hill fire insurance map, 1923, sheet 11923Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Church of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (87429)
Retake this viewChurch of the Good Shepherd, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (87429), c. 1930

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Camp Hill’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

10 famous people were born in Camp Hill

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Danielle FotopoulosAmerican soccer player · b. 1976
P
Park DietzAmerican psychiatrist · b. 1948
Kyle BradyPlayer of American football · b. 1972
C
Carol RittnerAmerican nun and Holocaust historian · b. 1943
K
Kevin JosephAmerican baseball player · b. 1976
B
Ben GallaherPennsylvanian singer-songwriter and recording a… · b. 1992
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Camp Hill’s post office has been open since 1867.

Gone or out of use
Camp Hill Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Camp Hill
Camp HillCamp Hill United Methodist Church ColumbariumTrinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Columbarium

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Pennsboro TownshipIts storyCLower Allen Township1 historic placeC+LemoyneIts storyB−Hampden Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Camp Hill’s history

What year was Camp Hill founded?

In 1750, according to Wikidata. Camp Hill’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1880 counted 467 people here.

How does Camp Hill rank for history?

Camp Hill is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #345 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Camp Hill?

27% of Camp Hill’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1953.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.