Pillow is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 291 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Pillow was founded in 1818 in the eastern part of Mifflin Township, Dauphin County by John Snyder, a land developer from Mercer County, as "Snydertown" (Schneiderschteddel). The borough was incorporated as "Uniontown" on April 20, 1864, becoming a separate municipality from the township.
When the town got its first post office in 1847, post offices under the name of "Snydertown" and "Uniontown" already existed. A postal official substituted the name "Pillow" after General Gideon Pillow, who was popular at the time for his victories in the Mexican–American War. Over the next hundred years, the new name slowly took hold, and on November 2, 1965, the residents voted to change the official name of the town to "Pillow".
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Pillow had numerous industries, including a cotton mill, a burial vault manufacturer, a brickworks, and a potato chip factory. Today, the only major industry is the Codi case factory.
Geography
Pillow is the northernmost municipality in Dauphin County, located at (40.640430, -76.803464). It is bounded on the west, north, and east by Mahantango Creek, a westward-flowing tributary of the Susquehanna River, and on the south by Mahantango Mountain.
Pennsylvania Route 225 passes through the center of the borough, leading northeast to Shamokin and south to Elizabethville.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
As of the census