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History · Cashtown

Cashtown’s post office opened in 1833, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1909 on, and old-book passages.

1833first post office
0on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cashtown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cashtown began

When was Cashtown founded?

1833

The Cashtown post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 2010.

2020 census: 453193 years
Founding year: the first Cashtown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 2010.

What stands out about Cashtown’s past

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

On the map since 19096 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1990. Watch Cashtown change.Deep rootsA post office since 1833: 193 years of Cashtown.Old housesHalf of Cashtown’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · On the map

Cashtown on the map, 1909 to 1990

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

Cashtown on the 1909 USGS mapCashtown on the 1944 USGS mapCashtown on the 1956 USGS mapCashtown on the 1968 USGS mapCashtown on the 1973 USGS mapCashtown 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 Cashtown.

Timeline

Cashtown, 1836 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836Born hereWilliam Addison Duncan is born here
  3. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Adams County - ED 1-14, ED…
  4. 1857Born hereNellie V. Mark is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1917In the archivePennsylvania
  8. 1999In the archiveCashtown Hotel. Looking NW. - Lincoln Highway, Running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, F…
The story so far

Cashtown, in brief

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

Cashtown is a census-designated place in Franklin Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community was part of the Cashtown-McKnightstown CDP, until it was split into two separate CDPs for the 2010 census. As of 2020, the population of Cashtown was 453. A post office called Cashtown has been in operation since 1833. According to tradition, the community was named for the fact a local tavern owner required that all payments be made in cash.

Its first post office opened in 1833. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 459 in 2010, 453 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Cashtown in 1886

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

The Reformed Society of Cashtown formed a part of the society of Flohr’s Chareh until the Lutheran society acquired sole control there inl875—76. About 1876 the society at Cashtown was formed; in 1877 the work of building the present neat house of worship was begun, and the church was dedicated Jan…
history of adams county pennsylvania.1886 · page 255Read the page →
Read the text

The Reformed Society of Cashtown formed a part of the society of Flohr’s Chareh until the Lutheran society acquired sole control there inl875—76. About 1876 the society at Cashtown was formed; in 1877 the work of building the present neat house of worship was begun, and the church was dedicated January 13, 1878. The cost is estimated at $3,500.

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.

By decade

Cashtown, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s2 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Adams County - ED 1-14, ED 1-15, ED 1-16, ED 1-17, ED 1-…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Adams County - ED 1-8, ED 1-9, ED 1-10, ED 1-11, ED 1-12…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
1910s1 item
Pennsylvania1917Pennsylvania
1920s–1980snothing 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
1990s3 items
Cashtown Hotel. Looking NW. - Lincoln Highway, Running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Fallsington, Bucks County, PA1999Cashtown Hotel. Looking NW. - Lincoln Highway, Runnin…Farmer with truckload of apples, west of cashtown. Looking E. - Lincoln Highway, Running from Philadelphia to Pittsburg…1999Farmer with truckload of apples, west of cashtown. Lo…View of Main Street, Cashtown. Looking E. - Lincoln Highway, Running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Fallsington, Buck…1999View of Main Street, Cashtown. Looking E. - Lincoln H…
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Adams County - ED 1-14, ED 1-15, ED 1-16, ED 1-17, ED 1-…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Adams County - ED 1-14, ED 1-15, ED 1-16, ED 1-17, ED 1-…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cashtown

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

See all →
William Addison DuncanAmerican politician · b. 1836
Nellie V. MarkAmerican physician, suffragist · b. 1857
Help out

Finish Cashtown’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

McKnightstownIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Cashtown’s history

What year was Cashtown founded?

The Cashtown post office opened in 1833, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 2010.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.