Dill's Tavern · Photo: Smallbones · CC0

History · Dillsburg

Dillsburg dates to 1740, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns · #137 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Rev. Anderson B. Quay House and the Dill's Tavern. Its Register listings are the Rev. Anderson B. Quay House and the Dill's Tavern. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1840.

1740founded

2on the National Register

27%homes built before 1940

3old photos & papers

Add an old photo Share a memory

From Dillsburg’s archive · credits on each photo

Quick answers

How Dillsburg began

When was Dillsburg founded?

1740

Dillsburg dates its founding to 1740 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 244 in 18402020 census: 2,635286 years

How historic is Dillsburg?

More historic than 93% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Dillsburg’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dillsburg is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #137 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dillsburg’s overall grade.

Founding era1740, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA⁺Homes built before 194026.7% of homes (±7.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A⁻National Register2 listings, 7.6 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B⁺

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 93%

NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 87%

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 Dillsburg’s 7.6 sits above most of its state (73% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1740.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 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 Dillsburg’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.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1973. Watch Dillsburg change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1740, 36 years before the Declaration of Independence.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1902 to 1921, drew every building in Dillsburg.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dillsburg’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dillsburg’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 viewClear Springs Motor Court, Dillsburg, P…: stand where they stood+15 Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

On the map

Dillsburg on the map, 1904 to 1973

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

1904Carlisle 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 Dillsburg.

Timeline

Dillsburg, 1740 to 1930

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

18th century
1740
FoundingDillsburg is established
19th century
1816Post officeThe Dillsburg post office opens
20th century
1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1930In the archiveClear Springs Motor Court, Dillsburg, Penna., on U.S. 15 -- 18 miles north of Gettysburg,…

The story

How Dillsburg came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dillsburg.

Read it all →

The town is named for Matthew Dill, an immigrant from County Monaghan, Ireland, who settled the town in 1740. The village became a center for local agriculture.

During the Civil War's Gettysburg campaign, Dillsburg was twice invaded by Confederate cavalry, first by Albert G. Jenkins's brigade, then by Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's division.

Dill's Tavern, founded in the 1750s with a current building constructed between 1794 and 1819, and the Rev. Anderson B. Quay House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Dillsburg, decade by decade

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

1930s3 items

Clear Springs Motor Court, Dillsburg, Penna., on U.S. 15 -- 18 miles north of Gettysburg, 18 miles south of Harrisburg …

c. 1930Clear Springs Motor Court, Dillsburg, Penna., on U.S.…

Ditmer's Restaurant, U.S. Route 15, Dillsburg, Pennsylvania (88895)

c. 1930Ditmer's Restaurant, U.S. Route 15, Dillsburg, Pennsy…

c. 1930Shelly's Motel (87824)

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

Every building

Dillsburg, building by building, 1902–1921

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 year, then a sheet.

Dillsburg fire insurance map, 1902, sheet 1

1902Sheet 1 of 2

Edition

Sheets

+1 more at the Library of Congress

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.

Retake this viewClear Springs Motor Court, Dillsburg, Penna., on U.S. 15 -- 18 miles north of Gettysburg, 18 miles south of Harrisburg …, c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15

On the National Register

2 historic places in Dillsburg

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

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

1997

Rev. Anderson B. Quay House

Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate1

Greek Revival1

Queen Anne1

Early Republic1

Colonial Revival1

Rev. Anderson B. Quay HouseItalianate

Dill's TavernEarly Republic

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

People over time

Dillsburg, census by census

Grew from 244 people in 1840 to 2,635 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Questions about Dillsburg’s history

What year was Dillsburg founded?

In 1740, according to Wikidata. Dillsburg’s post office opened in 1816, and the census of 1840 counted 244 people here.

How does Dillsburg rank for history?

Dillsburg is more historic than 93% of U.S. towns, #137 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.

What is on the National Register in Dillsburg?

Two places: the Rev. Anderson B. Quay House (listed 1997) and the Dill's Tavern (2004).

How old are the homes in Dillsburg?

27% of Dillsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1983.

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 (23), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, 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.

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