Terre Hill 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 ...

in Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The population was 1,363 at the 2020 census.

History

Terre Hill was formerly known as "Fairville". It was incorporated as a borough in 1907 after a successful court battle to separate from East Earl Township. The borough was once considered to be the hub of

cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

-making in Lancaster County. One of its most recognizable landmarks is the 19th-century clock at the borough hall. Terre Hill has the second fewest residents of any incorporated borough in Lancaster County, with the exception of Christiana. Terre Hill has no

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

s as of 2025. The first four-way stop in Terre Hill was created at the intersection of East Main Street and Earle Street in spring 2023. To create the four-way stop, two stop signs were added to East Main Street at the approaches to the already installed stop signs at Earle Street. The four-way stop was initially created with temporary stop signs during the closure of a section of PA Route 625 for underground pipe work. Shortly thereafter, the stop signs were made permanent.

Geography

Terre Hill is located in northeastern Lancaster County at (40.157565, -76.050410). Pennsylvania Route 897 is the borough's Main Street, leading north to Swartzville and south to East Earl. Terre Hill is northeast of

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, 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 southwest of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. 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 0.09%, are water. The community is on high ground overlooking the Weaverland Valley of eastern Lancaster County and is part of the watershed of the

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 t ...

, a southwest-flowing tributary of 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 ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,237 people, 440 households, and 349 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 454 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.63%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.16%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.08% Native American, 0.73% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population. There were 440 households, out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.17. In the borough the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $47,083, and the median income for a family was $47,891. Males had a median income of $36,815 versus $21,442 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $19,128. About 3.2% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

Annual events

The borough has numerous public events throughout the year for residents and community members. These special events are sponsored by the fundraising group Terre Hill Days Committee. The committee donates all of its proceeds to maintenance and upkeep of the Terre Hill Park. Some events include Breakfast & Yard Sales in the Park, Lunch in the Park, Ice Cream Social, Terre Hill Community Auction, Movie Nights in the Park, and Community Egg Hunts. Terre Hill's main event is Terre Hill Days, held in the summer. In 2007, the borough celebrated its centennial year with a special Terre Hill Days festival. Terre Hill Christmas in the Park Birds Eye View

Terre Hill Christmas in the Park Birds Eye View

Starting in 2018, a Christmas in the Park event has been held as a fundraiser for the Terre Hill Park and has become a holiday-time staple for the community and outsiders. During this event, the entire Park is converted into a Christmas wonderland- lights, live music, food, entertainment, and more. People from near and far have attended, some even traveling across state lines just to experience the festive event.

Terre Hill in popular culture

In 1980,

Calvin Trillin Calvin Marshall Trillin (born December 5, 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist. He is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor (2012) and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts ...

wrote a humorous article in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' about a dispute between the fire company of Terre Hill and its ladies' auxiliary.

References

External links

*
Terre Hill Days Committee
{{authority control Populated places established in 1900 Boroughs in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania 1907 establishments in Pennsylvania