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Fort Indiantown Gap front gatePhoto: Pennsylvania National Guard Public Affairs Office · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Fort Indiantown Gap

Fort Indiantown Gap dates to 1931

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1892 on.

1931founded
0on the National Register
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fort Indiantown Gap’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fort Indiantown Gap began

When was Fort Indiantown Gap founded?

1931

Fort Indiantown Gap dates its founding to 1931 (Wikidata).

2020 census: 6895 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Fort Indiantown Gap’s past

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

On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1999. Watch Fort Indiantown Gap change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Fort Indiantown Gap on the map, 1892 to 1999

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

Fort Indiantown Gap on the 1892 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1924 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1947 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1956 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1969 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1977 USGS mapFort Indiantown Gap on the 1999 USGS map1892Hummelstown 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 Fort Indiantown Gap.

The story

How Fort Indiantown Gap came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fort Indiantown Gap.

Read it all →

The history of Fort Indiantown Gap dates to 1755, when the colonial government established several forts as defenses for settlers against the Susquehannock. Tensions had risen as the colonists encroached on the communal lands of the Susquehannock, who had long hunted and cultivated there. The Native Americans became willing allies against the British colonists as the French and Indian War began. At the onset of the war, the Susquehannock attacked colonial frontier settlements, using the passes that existed in Blue Mountain through Manada Gap, Indiantown Gap, and Swatara Gap. Because of these attacks, fortifications were established near Swatara Gap in northern Lebanon County, just east of present-day Fort Indiantown Gap, and near Manada Gap in Dauphin County.

ChaptersWorld War II expansionPostwarPost 9/11

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Fort Indiantown Gap, 1892 to 1931

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930In the archiveArriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874)
  5. 1931
    FoundingFort Indiantown Gap is established
By decade

Fort Indiantown Gap, decade by decade

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

1930s6 items
Arriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874)c. 1930Arriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874)Artillery coming through Indiantown Gap, Pa (70877)c. 1930Artillery coming through Indiantown Gap, Pa (70877)Back from a hike, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70875)c. 1930Back from a hike, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70875)Bayonet drill, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70871)c. 1930Bayonet drill, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70871)General's home and retreat, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70880)c. 1930General's home and retreat, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70880)Getting placed, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70872)c. 1930Getting placed, Indiantown Gap, Pa (70872)
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
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.

Arriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874)
Retake this viewArriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874), c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Fort Indiantown Gap

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

See all →
Sam BowieAmerican basketball player · b. 1961
Les BrownAmerican bandleader · b. 1912
Betty HarteAmerican actress · b. 1882
Derek FisherAmerican baseball player · b. 1993
John M. ThomeAmerican-Argentine astronomer · b. 1843
G
Gary CollinsAmerican football player · b. 1940
Help out

Finish Fort Indiantown Gap’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewArriving at Indiantown Gap, Pa (70874): 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.

East Hanover TownshipIts storyBEast Hanover Township1 historic placeB

Questions about Fort Indiantown Gap’s history

What year was Fort Indiantown Gap founded?

In 1931, according to Wikidata.

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), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.