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History · Delta

Delta dates to 1744, and 65% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 137 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1969 on and old-book passages.

1744founded
2on the National Register
65%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Delta’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Delta began

When was Delta founded?

1744

Delta dates its founding to 1744 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1869.

2020 census: 707282 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1869.

What stands out about Delta’s past

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

A historic districtThe Delta Historic District takes in 137 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Delta’s homes were built before 1938.Older than the countryEstablished in 1744, 32 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 138 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
138
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Delta Historic District
Delta Historic DistrictHugh and Elizabeth Ross Whiteford House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Queen Anne1
Colonial Revival1
Delta Historic DistrictVernacular
Hugh and Elizabeth Ross Whiteford HouseBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Delta’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Delta’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 viewPeach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE0…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Delta, in brief

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

Delta is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and one of the southernmost communities in Pennsylvania. The population was 705 at the 2020 census. It is part of the York–Hanover metropolitan area. It is served by the South Eastern School District which provides a public education.

Delta was established in 1744. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 728 to 707 (-3%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Delta, 1886–1907

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

eral years continuing that business in Peach Bottom and Lower Chance ford. In 1876 began his connection with the "Railroad House" at Delta, now known as the ''Hotel Delta," while still later he became the proprietor of the "Delta House," the present Auditorium. The "Hotel Delta," of which he is now…
History of York County Pennsylvania1907 · page 887Read the page →
Read the text

eral years continuing that business in Peach Bottom and Lower Chance ford. In 1876 began his connection with the "Railroad House" at Delta, now known as the ''Hotel Delta," while still later he became the proprietor of the "Delta House," the present Auditorium. The "Hotel Delta," of which he is now proprietor, is one of the best known and most popular

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
secretary of the High Rock Canning Company, large packers of fruits and vegetables at High Rock, Pa. He is also largely interested in the Delta Packing Company, located at Delta, Pa. ; is also one of the incorporators and directors of the York Furnace Bridge Company, the Airville & Delta Electric R…
History of York County Pennsylvania1907 · page 454Read the page →
Read the text

secretary of the High Rock Canning Company, large packers of fruits and vegetables at High Rock, Pa. He is also largely interested in the Delta Packing Company, located at Delta, Pa. ; is also one of the incorporators and directors of the York Furnace Bridge Company, the Airville & Delta Electric Railway and other contemplated trolley roads, by which he hopes

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Delta Methodist Protestant Church. — About the time of the incorporation of Delta (1880) a few of the members of Mount Nebo Methodist Protestant Church arranged for religious services here, and secured preaching at irregular intervals by Rev. Mr. Litzinger, pastor of that congregation. Having purch…
History of York County Pennsylvania From the Earliest Time to the Present1886 · page 766Read the page →
Read the text

Delta Methodist Protestant Church. — About the time of the incorporation of Delta (1880) a few of the members of Mount Nebo Methodist Protestant Church arranged for religious services here, and secured preaching at irregular intervals by Rev. Mr. Litzinger, pastor of that congregation. Having purchased a lot from R. S. Parke they, in

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Delta Methodist Protestant Church. — About the time of the incorporation of Delta (1880) a few of the members of Mount Nebo Methodist Protestant Church arranged for religious services here, and secured preaching at irregular intervals by Rev. Mr. Litzinger, pastor of that congregation. Having purch…
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 766Read the page →
Read the text

Delta Methodist Protestant Church. — About the time of the incorporation of Delta (1880) a few of the members of Mount Nebo Methodist Protestant Church arranged for religious services here, and secured preaching at irregular intervals by Rev. Mr. Litzinger, pastor of that congregation. Having purchased a lot from R. S. Parke they, in

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

Delta, 1744 to 1969

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1744
    FoundingDelta is established
  3. 1762Born hereJames Ross is born here
  4. 1789Born hereJames Alexander, Jr. is born here
  5. 19th century
  6. 1869Post officeThe Delta post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1901Born hereThomas Dale Stewart is born here
  9. 1969In the archivePeach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE00020052
By decade

Delta, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Peach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE000200521969Peach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE00020052
1970s–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
Mason Dixon Line Delta PA Cardiff MD2013Mason Dixon Line Delta PA Cardiff MDGrassy Slate sidewalk2013Grassy Slate sidewalkDelta PA HD 602 Main2013Delta PA HD 602 Main
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.

Peach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE00020052
Retake this viewPeach Bottom Slate quarries 1969 1VCFE00020052, 1969

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Delta

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

See all →
James RossPennsylvania politician · b. 1762
J
James Alexander, Jr.United States Representative from Ohio · b. 1789
Thomas Dale StewartAnthropologist · b. 1901
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Peach Bottom Township4 historic placesA−

Questions about Delta’s history

What year was Delta founded?

In 1744, according to Wikidata. Delta’s post office opened in 1869.

What is on the National Register in Delta?

Two places: the Delta Historic District (listed 1983) and the Hugh and Elizabeth Ross Whiteford House (2018).

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 (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.