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Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown Railroad, PAPhoto: Purple pirouette · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−History
History · Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury dates to 1800, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #279 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Most of Shrewsbury was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 152 buildings. Below: maps from 1908 on and the census since 1840.

1800founded
2on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Shrewsbury began

When was Shrewsbury founded?

1800

Shrewsbury dates its founding to 1800 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 340 in 18402020 census: 3,848226 years

How historic is Shrewsbury?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Shrewsbury’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Shrewsbury is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #279 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Shrewsbury’s overall grade.
Founding era1800, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19409.3% of homes (±4.3) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register2 listings, 153 historic buildings, 395 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,035)Ahead of 73%

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 Shrewsbury’s 395 sits above most of its state (94% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 153 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1800.

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 Shrewsbury’s past

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

A historic districtThe Shrewsbury Historic District takes in 152 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Shrewsbury are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19086 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1999. Watch Shrewsbury change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1800: 226 years of Shrewsbury.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

2 listings protect 153 historic buildings

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
153
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Shrewsbury Historic District
Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown RailroadShrewsbury Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Mansard1
Queen Anne1
Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown RailroadLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements
All 2 listings
Shrewsbury Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984

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

Help out

Start Shrewsbury’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Shrewsbury on the map, 1908 to 1999

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

Shrewsbury on the 1908 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1910 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1954 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1968 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1973 USGS mapShrewsbury on the 1999 USGS map1908York 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 Shrewsbury.

The story

How Shrewsbury came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shrewsbury.

Read it all →

At one time, the land that is now Shrewsbury Borough was part of one large area called Shrewsbury Township. In 1797, Baltzer (Balthaser) Faust began to develop the village by laying out lots on both sides of Joppa Road (later the York-Baltimore Turnpike and now Main Street). The early settlers were mostly German and the town was called Strassburg, which means “the town by the street or road.” By 1830 there was enough of an influx of English people to reinstate “Shrewsbury” as the official name. On August 9, 1834, the Borough of Shrewsbury was incorporated by an Act of the General Assembly. The area delineated was approximately one mile long and one-half mile wide, stretching lengthwise along the turnpike, with the borough center located at the crossroads.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Shrewsbury in 1886

Passages that mention Shrewsbury, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Railroad Borough is a town of aboiit 250 population and is situated on the Northern Central Railroad, about one mile west of Shrewsbury, and was incorporated into a borough August 31, 1871, with F. Helb, as chief burgess; J. N. Grove, assistant burgess; S. Klinefelter, G. W. Ruby, Daniel Seitz, M. …
History of York County Pennsylvania From the Earliest Time to the Present1886 · page 713Read the page →
Read the text

Railroad Borough is a town of aboiit 250 population and is situated on the Northern Central Railroad, about one mile west of Shrewsbury, and was incorporated into a borough August 31, 1871, with F. Helb, as chief burgess; J. N. Grove, assistant burgess; S. Klinefelter, G. W. Ruby, Daniel Seitz, M. Gable. T. H. McAbee and James

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
New Freedom is a small town situated in the southern portion of the township of Shrewsbury on the Northern Central Railroad. The town is very beautifully situated on a level plain on an elevation, the land surrounding the town being fertile and level. The population in 1880 was 325, and it has sinc…
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 714Read the page →
Read the text

New Freedom is a small town situated in the southern portion of the township of Shrewsbury on the Northern Central Railroad. The town is very beautifully situated on a level plain on an elevation, the land surrounding the town being fertile and level. The population in 1880 was 325, and it has since grown quite rapidly. It was incorporated

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
His ancestors came to America before the Revolution. He was brought up in Shrewsbury Township, and educated at the district schools, and was two sessions at Glen Rock, teaching one year in Shrewsbury Township. When seventeen years of age he began huckstering in York, and continued it two years, and…
History of York County Pennsylvania From the Earliest Time to the Present1886 · page 173Read the page →
Read the text

His ancestors came to America before the Revolution. He was brought up in Shrewsbury Township, and educated at the district schools, and was two sessions at Glen Rock, teaching one year in Shrewsbury Township. When seventeen years of age he began huckstering in York, and continued it two years, and then engaged in the butchering business'in Shrewsbury, which he carried on for two

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
His ancestors came to America before the Revolution. He was brought up in Shrewsbury Township, and educated at the district schools, and was two sessions at Glen Rock, teaching one year in Shrewsbury Township. When seventeen years of age he began huckstering in York, and continued it two years, and…
History of York County, Pennsylvania1886 · page 173Read the page →
Read the text

His ancestors came to America before the Revolution. He was brought up in Shrewsbury Township, and educated at the district schools, and was two sessions at Glen Rock, teaching one year in Shrewsbury Township. When seventeen years of age he began huckstering in York, and continued it two years, and then engaged in the butchering business in Shrewsbury, which he carried on for two

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Shrewsbury, 1800 to 1958

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800
    FoundingShrewsbury is established
  3. 1818Post officeThe Shrewsbury post office opens
  4. 1841Born hereEdgar M. Ruhl is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1908On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1926Post officeThe Hungerford post office opens
  8. 1958Post officeThe Hungerford post office closes
By decade

Shrewsbury, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Susquehanna Trail nb entering Shrewsbury Borough, PA, July 20252025Susquehanna Trail nb entering Shrewsbury Borough, PA,…Susquehanna Trail nb at Stewartstown Railroad, Shrewsbury Borough, PA, July 20252025Susquehanna Trail nb at Stewartstown Railroad, Shrews…Susquehanna Trail nb at PA 851, Shrewsbury, PA, July 20252025Susquehanna Trail nb at PA 851, Shrewsbury, PA, July …Shrewsbury Assembly Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 20252025Shrewsbury Assembly Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 2025Freedom Community Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 20252025Freedom Community Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 2025Former Shrewsbury Savings Institution, July 20252025Former Shrewsbury Savings Institution, July 2025Christ Lutheran Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 20252025Christ Lutheran Church, Shrewsbury, PA, July 2025Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown Railroad, PA2012Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown Railroad, PAPennsylvania State Route 8512009Pennsylvania State Route 851Pennsylvania State Route 8512009Pennsylvania State Route 851Pennsylvania State Route 8512009Pennsylvania State Route 851Telephone booth2007Telephone booth
Every building

Shrewsbury, building by building, 1908–1913

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.

Shrewsbury fire insurance map, 1908, sheet 11908Sheet 1 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Shrewsbury, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00018501900195020003,848

Grew from 340 people in 1840 to 3,848 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

Shrewsbury’s post office has been open since 1818. Another post office, Hungerford, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Shrewsbury
1818–today
Hungerford
1926–1958
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hungerford
Gone or out of use
Mount Airy Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Shrewsbury Township4 historic placesB+Hopewell Township3 historic placesB+

Questions about Shrewsbury’s history

What year was Shrewsbury founded?

In 1800, according to Wikidata. Shrewsbury’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1840 counted 340 people here.

How does Shrewsbury rank for history?

Shrewsbury is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #279 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 Shrewsbury?

Two places: the Shrewsbury Railroad Station, Stewartstown Railroad (listed 1995) and the Shrewsbury Historic District (1984).

How old are the homes in Shrewsbury?

9% of Shrewsbury’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1986.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.