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History · Palmdale

11% of Palmdale’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0

What stands out about Palmdale’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Palmdale are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Palmdale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Palmdale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Palmdale, in brief

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

Palmdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 1,308. Palmdale is in the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. Palmdale is in eastern Derry Township and is bordered to the north, west, and south by the community of Hershey. The eastern border of Palmdale is with the borough of Palmyra in Lebanon County. U.S. Route 422 (E. Chocolate Avenue) is the main road through Palmdale. To the east it leads 12 miles (19 km) to Lebanon and 40 miles (64 km) to Reading, while to the west it leads via US 322 17 miles (27 km) to Harrisburg.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,308 in 2010, 1,308 in 2020.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Palmdale

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

See all →
C
Christian PulisicAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
S
Steven PasqualeAmerican actor · b. 1976
M
Michelle WolfAmerican comedian · b. 1985
Dave TwardzikAmerican basketball player · b. 1950
Andy PottsTriathlete · b. 1976
J
Julie StaverField hockey player · b. 1952
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Hershey3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDerry Township4 historic placesA−Palmyra1 historic placeANorth Londonderry Township1 historic placeC

Questions about Palmdale’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 →