Mount Joy is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; ), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States ...

, United States. The population was 8,346 at the 2020 census, and an estimated 8,323 in 2021.

Name and origin

The name is often shortened to "Mt Joy", as in Mencken (1963).Mencken (1963) p.653. Quote: However, citizens of the town often point out that this abbreviation is not proper because the town is not named for a mountain but is named after the "Good Ship" ''Mountjoy'' which famously broke a Catholic siege during the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Thi ...

. Due to the early settlement of the Protestant Scots-Irish in this region of Pennsylvania, many of the municipalities in the area were given names common to the North of Ireland, such as Derry Township, Londonderry Township, South Londonderry Township, Mount Joy Township, East Donegal Township, West Donegal Township, and Rapho Township. Mount Joy is often named in lists of "delightfully-named towns" in

Pennsylvania Dutch Country The Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Pennsylvanie Deitschland,'' ''Deitscherei,'' or ''Pennsilfaanisch-Deitschland''), or Pennsylvania Dutchland, is a region of German Pennsylvania spanning the Delaware Valley and South Central ...

, along with Intercourse, Blue Ball,

Lititz Lititz is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was ...

, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

.Ward's quarterly (1965) p.109 quote: Anderson (1979) p.214 quote: Museums Association (2006) p.61 quote:

General information

*ZIP code: 17552 *Area code: 717 *Local phone codes: 492, 653, 928

Geography

Mount Joy is located in northwestern Lancaster County at (40.109895, -76.510977). Pennsylvania Route 230 passes through the center of town as Main Street, leading southeast to Lancaster, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and northwest to Elizabethtown.

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, the state capital, is to the northwest via PA-230. PA-772 crosses PA-230 west of the borough center and leads northeast to Manheim and southwest to Marietta on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of , of which , or 0.64%, are water. Little Chiques Creek, a south-flowing tributary of

Chiques Creek Chiques Creek (known as ''Chickies Creek'' until 2002) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in Lebanon and Lancaster c ...

and part of the Susquehanna River watershed, crosses the eastern side of the borough. In the 1970s, Mount Joy was chosen as the site of one of ten Decision Information Distribution System radio stations, designed to alert the public of an enemy attack. The system was never implemented and the station was not built.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reports the following demographics for Mount Joy Borough: * Total population: 7,410 * Male: 3,624 * Female: 3,786 * Hispanic or Latino: 549 * White: 6,809 * African American: 187 * Asian: 58 * American Indian and Alaska Native: 20 * Identified by two or more: 170

Museums and historic sites

* Central Hotel * Donegal Mills Plantation * George Brown's Sons Cotton and Woolen Mill * Nissly Swiss Chocolate Company

Notable people

* Kaufman Thuma "K.T." Keller, president and CEO, Chrysler Corporation * Joseph F. Knipe, brigadier general, 46th PA Infantry, during the American Civil War * Donald Kraybill, researcher and author on

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

groups *

Clarence Charles Newcomer Clarence Charles Newcomer (January 18, 1923 – August 22, 2005) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for more than 33 years. Education and career Newcomer was born in M ...

(1923–2005),

United States federal judge In the United States, a federal judge is a judge who serves on a court established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. Often called "Article III judges", federal judges include the chief justice and associate justices of the U.S. S ...

* Winfred Trexler Root, historian * Mike Sarbaugh, coach,

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

* Bruce Sutter,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher and

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

inductee

Notes

References

* Anderson, William Charles (1979
''Home Sweet Home Has Wheels: Or, Please Don't Tailgate the Real Estate''
* *

Museums Association The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in London for museum, gallery and heritage professionals and organisations of the United Kingdom. It also offers international membership. History The association w ...

(2006
''The Museums journal, Volume 106, Issues 1-6''
Indexes to papers read before the Museums Association, 1890–1909. Compiled by Charles Madeley. *

Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation, and education markets. The company is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois with a di ...

and Company (1978
''Vacation & Travel Guide''

''Ward's Quarterly, Volume 1''
1965

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1812 Boroughs in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1812 establishments in Pennsylvania