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Intercourse, PA Keystone Marker 3Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
History · Intercourse

Intercourse’s post office opened in 1828

Most of Intercourse was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1906 on.

1828first post office
0on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Intercourse’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Intercourse began

When was Intercourse founded?

1828

The Intercourse post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,494198 years
Founding year: the first Intercourse post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Intercourse’s past

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

On the map since 19066 editions of the USGS map, 1906 to 1992. Watch Intercourse change.Deep rootsA post office since 1828: 198 years of Intercourse.
★ What stands out · On the map

Intercourse on the map, 1906 to 1992

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

Intercourse on the 1906 USGS mapIntercourse on the 1941 USGS mapIntercourse on the 1956 USGS mapIntercourse on the 1969 USGS mapIntercourse on the 1975 USGS mapIntercourse on the 1992 USGS map1906New Holland 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 Intercourse.

The story

How Intercourse came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Intercourse.

Read it all →

Intercourse was founded in 1754. The community was originally named "Cross Keys", after a local tavern. Intercourse became the name in 1814. The village website gives several theories for the origins of the name:

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Intercourse, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s6 items
Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish carriage shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish carriage …Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shopIntercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shopIntercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish wagon shopIntercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Blacksmith shop in conjuction with Amish wagon shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Blacksmith shop…Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Blacksmith shop in conjuction with Amish wagon shop1942Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Blacksmith shop…
1950s–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.

Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish carriage shop
Retake this viewIntercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish carriage shop, 1942

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

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Intercourse’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 viewIntercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). A…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Intercourse’s history

What year was Intercourse founded?

The Intercourse post office opened in 1828, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 the Library of Congress (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.