Washington Boro is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in Manor Township, Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, along the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

. The ZIP code is 17582. It is served by the

Penn Manor School District The Penn Manor School District is a large, rural/suburban, public school district located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Penn Manor School District encompasses approximately 110 square miles. Penn Manor School District serves residents ...

and is the terminus of

Pennsylvania Route 441 Pennsylvania Route 441 (PA 441) is a state route in central Pennsylvania that mostly parallels the Susquehanna River through Lancaster and Dauphin counties. The southern terminus is at PA 999 in the Manor Township hamlet of Washington Boro. ...

and Pennsylvania Route 999. As of the 2010 census the population was 729.

History

The

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

fur trader

Martin Chartier Martin Chartier (1655 – Apr 1718) was a French-Canadian explorer and trader, carpenter and glove maker. He lived much of his life amongst the Shawnee Native Americans in what is now the United States. Chartier accompanied Louis Jolliet o ...

and his son Peter Chartier established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

near this area in 1718. A monument was erected on the spot in 1925 by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and the Lancaster County Historical Society. Also called the "Borough of Washington" or "Washingtonboro" in the past, the small community was settled in 1810 and incorporated in 1827. It was a center of river trade and river jobs, as it is located near the site of the first colonial era animal-powered

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

across the lower

— Wright's Ferry between present-day

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

and Wrightsville. Due to the decline of river trade and jobs, the Borough of Washington was dissolved politically, effective December 31, 1973, becoming part of Manor Township.

Geography

Washington Boro is located in western Lancaster County, in the northwest corner of Manor Township. It is situated on the east bank of the

opposite Leibharts Corner in York County. The Susquehanna in this area is impounded by the Safe Harbor Dam to the southeast, forming

Lake Clarke Lake Clarke in Pennsylvania is a man-made lake along the Susquehanna River formed by the Safe Harbor Dam, a public works project of the 1930s Great Depression and one of the electrification projects of the New Deal. It is approximately long ...

. Washington Boro is at the center of what was known in colonial times as the Conejohela Flats on the Susquehanna. --->Conejohela+Valley.html#local_map Conejohela map
/ref> Pennsylvania Route 441 has its southern terminus in Washington Boro and leads north (upriver) to

. PA 999 has its western terminus at PA 441 and leads northeast to Lancaster, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Washington Boro has a total area of , of which , or 0.09%, are water.

Attractions

The village contains a number of old hotels used to attract travelers, which are now private homes. A volunteer fire department, Goodwill Fire Company No. 1, was organized in March 1917 and chartered September 8, 1918. It merged with three other neighboring fire companies to create Blue Rock Fire Rescue circa 2011. The former Patriotic Sons of America Lodge now serves as a community hall. The Washington Boro Tomato Festival is held each year in July, and the Washington Boro United Methodist Church hosts its Tomato Feast in August.

References

External links

Washington Boro Ancestry
{{authority control Populated places established in 1810 Former municipalities in Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Census-designated places in Pennsylvania Populated places disestablished in 1973