Southampton Township

Southampton Township was formed in 1783. It rests at the south-west corner of Cumberland County and is bordered by Franklin and Adams Counties.¹ The southern part of the township nestles against South Mountain and is currently zoned for Woodlands Conservation in order to preserve the forests. The northern end of the township is zoned for Agricultural Conservation in order to preserve the farms from encroachment by industrial development.² Initially, the township included an area now part of Franklin County; its present boundaries were settled by court order in 1791.³

The South Mountain area of the township included three iron furnaces in the second quarter of the nineteenth century⁴ because of the ore and forest in that location. At one time, three railways serviced the furnaces.⁵ The northern area was settled by Scots Irish folk intent on agriculture.⁶

Typically, grist mills to service agricultural needs were built along the Middle Spring. In early days of the county, two powder mills, one near the town of Shippensburg and one near South Mountain, existed. Both mills eventually blew up killing the proprietors.⁷

Of the churches that developed, the Middle Spring Presbyterian Church stands out in township history. Its initial building, a log cabin, was erected in 1738. Other buildings subsequently replaced earlier construction.⁸ The congregation continues to exist and prosper along the Middle Spring.

The town of Shippensburg was carved from the township territory. As usual, population developed around such emerging villages, especially Middle Spring and Shippensburg.⁹

Two railroads once traced the township: the Cumberland Valley Railroad and the Harrisburg & Potomac Railroad. The roadbed for the latter which ran through the southern part of the township continues in active service as part of the Norfolk Southern system.¹⁰

Southampton today is a rural township enclosing 53 square miles and counting a population of 6369 people. Township staff service 44 miles of road. The township boasts 53 acres of public parks. The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a 33% population increase in Southampton. During that period, a large housing development along U.S. route 11 east of Shippensburg was built. With a Volvo plant nearby in Franklin County and the Shippensburg State University in the adjacent community, population has flowed into the new housing development bringing all of the expected governance issues that such a dramatic population change entails.¹¹

Shippensburg, carved from the township, functions as the major town closest to the township area. Today, it is dominated by a state university of the Pennsylvania university system.