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===19th Century and the Civil War=== For much of its early history, East Berlin was not legally a borough with its own municipal government, but a part of neighboring [[Hamilton Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania|Hamilton Township]]; on November 10, 1879, after town residents petitioned the Court of Adams County, 407 acres of land around the community were officially designated as the borough of East Berlin.<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> The town would maintain basic infrastructure like streets, sidewalks, curbs, and oil lamps. The borough built a water reservoir in 1897. Congressman and abolitionist [[Thaddeus Stevens]] briefly owned property in East Berlin from 1832 to 1848 before moving to [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]].<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> During the [[Gettysburg Campaign|Gettysburg campaign]] of the Civil War, [[Jubal Early|Jubal Early's]] Confederate troops marched twice through East Berlin, only a few days before the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] would take place.<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> Many residents, aware that the soldiers would pillage and loot for supplies, left milk and other supplies outside their homes, hoping to appease the soldiers.<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> There are other stories of incidents between residents of East Berlin and the Confederate soldiers: after spotting women baking bread in the communal ovens, Confederate soldiers allegedly forced the women to hand over the bread they had made. Other folklore suggests that an unidentified man in the second story of the tavern on King Street shot at the Confederates as they passed through town, and that two families with the name Lincoln from nearby [[Dover, Pennsylvania|Dover]] hid in East Berlin after hearing that Confederates would kill anyone they met named "Lincoln."<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> Early himself spent the night at the Zinn farmhouse (named after the woman who owned it) just west of the town on June 27, where he was treated to a variety of Pennsylvania Dutch dishes.<ref name="The Wheels of Time II: East Berlin Sestercentennial" /> In 1877, the [[Berlin Branch Railroad]] was completed, linking the town to Berlin Junction on the [[Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad]]. The railroad operated until 1914, when the tracks were removed from East Berlin to Abbottstown. The rail line was relaid in 1916 and continued to operate as the East Berlin Railroad until 1939. The tracks were again removed in 1940.<ref>{{cite book | author=Taber, Thomas T., III | year=1987 | title=Railroads of Pennsylvania Encyclopedia and Atlas | publisher=Thomas T. Taber III | isbn=0-9603398-5-X |page=6}}</ref>
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