Editing Stewartstown, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
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There were settlers in the Stewartstown area as early as 1750. This part of southern York County was claimed by both [[Maryland]] and Pennsylvania, and the boundary dispute was settled by the surveying of the [[Mason–Dixon Line]] in 1767.

By 1777, a road had been well established between [[York, Pennsylvania|York]] and [[Baltimore]], and Stewartstown's main street of today lies along a portion of the road. Around 1812, a group of farmers set out to establish a town in south central [[Hopewell Township, York County, Pennsylvania|Hopewell Township]]. The earliest buildings were several houses, a workshop for making furniture and wheels, a store, and a tavern. Anthony Stewart, owner of the workshop, served as the village clerk, and his shop became the main meeting place.

The village was first known as Meadstown, after Benedict Meads, owner of the tavern and the store. Later it became known as Mechanicsburg because of a large number of tradesmen who lived in the community. By 1828, the town had its own post office, and Stewart was appointed the first postmaster. There was already another Pennsylvania town named [[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsburg]], so postal officials assigned the name "Guilford" to the community. Through the efforts of Anthony Stewart, with the help of Judge Adam Ebaugh, the Post Office Department changed the town's postmark to "Stewartstown" on March 24, 1832.

The [[Stewartstown Engine House, Stewartstown Railroad]] and [[Stewartstown Railroad Station]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>