Springettsbury Township is a township in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 27,032 at the 2010 census. Within Springettsbury, Diamond Silk Mill, East York Historic District, Pleasureville Historic District, and Strickler Family Farmhouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
18th century
While William Penn received a royal grant in 1681, rights to the land that became Springettsbury Township were purchased from local Native Americans in the early 1700s before it was settled. Original peoples of the area at this time included the Susquehannock/Conestoga. The "Treaty of 1736" acquired a clear title for Penn's heirs to the lands west of the Susquehanna River. Prior to this, Governor William Keith had held council with the native people on June 16, 1722. First identified as including , the land was marked as the "Manor of Springettsbury" and included dense forests of oak, chestnut, walnut, hickory, poplar, and ash trees. By 1739, Springettsbury Manor was encompassed by the founding of Hellam Township, and on August 19, 1749, York County was formed from what was the western part of Lancaster County. After a southern border dispute with Maryland was resolved, a re-survey in the 1760s found that the manor contained .
left|thumb|Oldest section of Strickler Farmhouse, built c. 1740
Camp Security
During the Revolutionary War, Camp Security operated in Springettsbury (then part of Hellam) Township from 1781 to the war's end in 1783, and held prisoners from the Battles of Saratoga in New York and later those from the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia. Located just east of the current Penn Oaks development, the camp housed 1,500 prisoners, Continental Army guards, and their families. The first prisoners arrived from an overcrowded stockade in Charlottesville, Virginia, years after their 1777 capture, and were obliged to build their own stockade and huts, as well as guard shacks for their captors. The poor accommodations and shortages of food, clothing, and medicine contributed to the spread of disease such that hundreds died and were buried in mostly unmarked graves nearby. Yorktown prisoners arrived in 1782 and Camp Indulgence was built nearby, outside the stockade, with similar huts but with less security and easier parole for about 600 residents (non-commissioned officers and some women and children). An archeological dig found Camp Security's stockade post holes in October 2022, and work to uncover more remains of the site continued in 2023.
19th century
Spring Garden Township, which then included the Springettsbury land, was formed out of the southwestern part of Hellam Township in 1822. By the 1900 census, the new township had a population of 1,783. with hourly service via tracks along East Market Street (later designated part of the Lincoln Highway and US 30; now Route 462). Service to Wrightsville ended in 1932 (or 1933)
Other historic subdivisions in the township, and their years of development, include Fayfield (c. 1937 – c. 1986), Haines Acres (800 acres, 1954–1973), and Yorkshire. The York Suburban School District includes students from all of these neighborhoods and East York. until its closure in the 1990s, when the company continued operating a comparatively smaller parts distribution center.
The headquarters and distribution center of the former McCrory Stores chain was in Springettsbury Township from 1963. Founded in 1882, the stores filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and 2001, and the company ceased operation in early 2002.
21st century
The vacant former Caterpillar facility was acquired by a joint venture in 2002 for $9 million and received $50 million in redevelopment investments as the "York Business Center" before being sold at a profit in 2008. Primary tenants at that time included RR Donnelley and Bon-Ton Stores.
In late 2016, Post Consumer Brands filed plans to move into a newly built logistics center within the Harley-Davidson campus off Eden Road in the township. Expected to generate 70 jobs, Post was to occupy about 80 percent of the building, likely by January 2017, with the remainder available for lease by Post or other tenants. To be used for dry cereal storage, the warehouse has over 60 docks for shipping and receiving. Its builder declared the center's construction complete on January 23, 2017.
Bon-Ton Stores employed 332 workers at its Springettsbury Township headquarters as of April 2018 before the department store chain closed in August 2018.
Hollywood Casino York opened in Springettsbury Township in August 2021. The casino has over 500 video poker and slot machines, a full-service restaurant, and Pennsylvania's first retail Barstool Sportsbook location.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.7 square miles (43.4 km<sup>2</sup>), all land. Its western and northwestern boundaries (with Manchester and East Manchester Townships) are adjacent to Codorus Creek and its southwestern boundary (with Spring Garden Township) is along Mill Creek. Springettsbury Township's southeastern border is with York and Windsor Townships and its northeastward-facing border is with Hellam Township.
The township includes the census-designated places of Pleasureville, East York, Yorklyn, and Stonybrook.
Major roads
- 20px Interstate 83
- 20px U.S. Route 30
- 20px PA Route 24 (Mount Zion Road / Edgewood Road)
- 20px PA Route 124 (Mount Rose Avenue)
- 20px PA Route 462 (East Market Street)