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History · New Kingstown

New Kingstown’s post office opened in 1851, and 64% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1904 on.

1851first post office
0on the National Register
64%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From New Kingstown’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How New Kingstown began

When was New Kingstown founded?

1851

The New Kingstown post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 709175 years
Founding year: the first New Kingstown post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about New Kingstown’s past

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

Old housesHalf of New Kingstown’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19047 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1999. Watch New Kingstown change.
★ What stands out · The story so far

New Kingstown, in brief

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

New Kingstown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 495 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area.

Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 495 to 709 (+43%).

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

On the map

New Kingstown on the map, 1904 to 1999

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

New Kingstown on the 1904 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1943 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1952 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1968 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1973 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1987 USGS mapNew Kingstown on the 1999 USGS map1904Carlisle 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 New Kingstown.

Timeline

New Kingstown, 1850 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cumberland County - ED 21-…
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1909Born hereEthaline Hartge Cortelyou is born here
  6. 1930In the archiveHeishman's Sunoco Service and Restaurant, Harrisburg Pike at New Kingstown, PA - between …
  7. 1957Born hereMike Williams is born here
By decade

New Kingstown, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s1 item
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cumberland County - ED 21-50, ED 21-51, ED 21-52, ED 21-…18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Penns…
1930s5 items
Heishman's Sunoco Service and Restaurant, Harrisburg Pike at New Kingstown, PA - between circa 1930 and circa 1945 (820…c. 1930Heishman's Sunoco Service and Restaurant, Harrisburg …Roadway Restaurant, on Rt. 11 -- 3 miles east of Penna. Turnpike, New Kingston, Pa (81804)c. 1930Roadway Restaurant, on Rt. 11 -- 3 miles east of Penn…The Country House (85435)c. 1930The Country House (85435)The Country House (87092)c. 1930The Country House (87092)The Country House (88098)c. 1930The Country House (88098)
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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cumberland County - ED 21-50, ED 21-51, ED 21-52, ED 21-…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Cumberland County - ED 21-50, ED 21-51, ED 21-52, ED 21-…, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in New Kingstown

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

See all →
E
Ethaline Hartge CortelyouAmerican chemist and scientific technical writer · b. 1909
M
Mike WilliamsAmerican football player, born 1957 · b. 1957
Help out

Finish New Kingstown’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about New Kingstown’s history

What year was New Kingstown founded?

The New Kingstown post office opened in 1851, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people 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.