Intercourse is an
unincorporated community and
census-designated place (CDP) in
Leacock Township,
Lancaster County, in the
U.S. state of
Pennsylvania, east of Lancaster on
Pennsylvania Route 340. As of the
2020 census, the population was 1,494, up from 1,274 at the previous census.
Intercourse is a popular site for
tourists because of its location in
Amish country and its
sexually suggestive name. The movie ''
Witness'' was filmed in Intercourse as well as other parts of the surrounding area, and ''
For Richer or Poorer'' was set there, though not filmed in Intercourse. Because of the town's unusual name, the sign posts for the town are
frequently targeted by thieves.
History
Intercourse was founded in 1754. The community was originally named "Cross Keys", after a local tavern. Intercourse became the name in 1814. The village website gives several theories for the origins of the name:
Another theory concerns two famous roads that crossed here. The Old King's highway from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh (now the Old Philadelphia Pike) ran east and west through the center of the town. The road from Wilmington to Erie intersected in the middle. The joining of these two roads is claimed by some to be the basis for the town 'Cross Keys' or eventually 'Intercourse'.[Intercourse PA Merchants Association – Shopping – Tourism – Restaurants](_blank)
A final idea comes from the use of language during the early days of the village. The word 'intercourse' was commonly used to describe the 'fellowship' and 'social interaction and support' shared in the community of faith, which was much a part of a rural village like this one.
Another theory is that it is derived from a sign at an old racecourse on the edge of town which said "Enter course".
Geography
Intercourse is located in east-central Lancaster County, in the center of Leacock Township.
Pennsylvania Route 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike) passes through the center of town, leading west to Lancaster, the
county seat, and east to
Downingtown
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,898. Downingtown was settled by European colonists in the early 18th century and has a number of historic buildings an ...
.
Pennsylvania Route 772 (East and West Newport Road) joins PA 340 for two blocks in the center of town; it leads northwest to
Leola and southeast to
Gap.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the Intercourse CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.04%, are water.
Muddy Run, a westward-flowing tributary of
Conestoga River
The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...
, forms the northern edge of the community.
Intercourse has a hot-summer
humid continental climate (''Dfa'') like the remainder of Lancaster County. Average monthly temperatures range from in January to in July. The local
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 6b.
Demographics
According to the 2020 "ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles", 41.0% of the township's population spoke only
English, while 51.6 spoke an "other
han Spanish
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
Indo-European language"
[ (basically ]Pennsylvania German
The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spea ...
/ German).
Economy
Tourism and farming are major industries in the area. Small businesses sell Amish crafts, food, and give horse and buggy rides. The town thrives on thousands of tourists who visit the region each year. Most of the land surrounding the town is farmland.
In popular culture
The village's name is often the subject of jokes relating to sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
.[Krassner (1963)] Intercourse and Blue Ball are often named in lists of "delightfully-named towns" in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, along with Gap, Fertility, Mount Joy, Lititz
Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370.
History
Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...
, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise.[Ward's quarterly (1965) p.109 quote: ''...in such delightfully-named towns in Pennsylvania Dutchland as his native Mount Joy, and neighboring Lititz, Blue Ball, Bareville, Intercourse, Bird in Hand, and Paradise.''][Anderson (1979) p.214 quote: ''...but anyone who names their towns Mount Joy, Intercourse, and Blue Ball can't be all bad. Obviously they have more on their minds than just religion.''][Museums Association (2006) p.61 quote: ''Which brings us to Intercourse. You can imagine my delight when I found out that the Amish call the town of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, their home. There seems to be a lot of explanations from locals trying to pass off the name as a bastardisation of 'Enter Course' and so on, but seeing as there are other local towns called Blue Ball, Bird In Hand, and Mount Joy, I suspect that the person responsible had a very juvenile sense of humour. The town sits in upstate Pennsylvania and is a tourist trap for anyone even remotely curious about the Amish way of life.''] The village's name has also been a source for humor on the Mennonite satire website ''The Daily Bonnet
''The Daily Bonnet'' is a satirical Mennonite website. It was created by Andrew Unger and launched in May 2016. It features news stories and editorials, with the structure of conventional newspapers, but whose content is contorted to make humoro ...
,'', in the episode ‘’ The Old Man and the "C" Student’’ of '' The Simpsons'' as well as an episode of '' The Cleveland Show''.
Sites of interest
** American Military Edged Weaponry Museum[http://www.visitpa.com/pa-museums/american-military-edged-weaponry-museum , VisitPA.com, Retrieved July 3, 2013]
** People's Place Quilt Museum
Notes
References
* Anderson, William Charles (1979
''Home Sweet Home Has Wheels: Or, Please Don't Tailgate the Real Estate''
* Henry Louis Mencken, Raven Ioor McDavid (1963
''The American Language: An Inquiry Into the Development of English in the United States, Volume 1''
*Museums Association
The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals, museums, galleries and heritage organisations, and companies that work in the museum, gallery and heritage s ...
(2006
''The Museums Journal, Volume 106, Issues 1-6''
indexes to papers read before the Museums Association, 1890–1909. Compiled by Charles Madeley.
* Paul Krassner (1963
"The Trial of Eros Magazine"
in '' The Realist'' No.44, pp. 1
11
* Rand McNally and Company (1978
''Vacation & Travel Guide''''Ward's Quarterly, Volume 1''
1965
{{authority control
1754 establishments in Pennsylvania
Census-designated places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1754
Unincorporated communities in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania