Atglen Borough municipal offices are located at 120 Main Street, Atglen PA 19310.
Phone: 610‑593‑6854.
Neighborhoods
Beginnings [1]
The land upon which Atglen now stands was once a wilderness. Cutting through it were paths made by Indians who traveled from Paxtang (present day Harrisburg) to present day Newcastle, Delaware to trade with the Swedes and later, the English. The great Minquas path was one of them. Enterprising businessmen grew bolder in their desire to stimulate business so they began to travel to the Indian's own homes. There were even some French men in the area who traded with the Indian, as did the English.
Stories have come down to us that at the Greenwood Forge location, Indians slept by the fireplace of Andrew Moore's home, which was built after he came to America in 1723.
In 1717, Sadsbury township was organized. It included all of present day Sadsbury Township as well as Fallowfield, Highland, and Valley townships.
In August 1728, several inhabitants petitioned the court to separate Sadsbury from Fallowfield because of the former's size.
In November, 1728, the township was subdivided into East and West Sadsbury, and in 1729, upon the division of Chester County into Lancaster and Chester counties, the line between the two divisions of the township was made to conform to the county line.
During the mid 18th century, more and more settlers arrived, drawn by the rich farming land that is located here. The Indian trails became horse tracks and later wagon tracks as farmers shipped their goods to market in Philadelphia and Newport or New Castle, Delaware. The old Provincial Highway as authorized by the government was laid out in 1730 and the Newport Rood to the ore mines at Cornwall, Lebanon County, was laid out in 1796.
Roads sprang up from these wagon tracks — the Lancaster-Philadelphia road, (It became a turnpike after 1792) and the Strasburg Road. The road to Newcastle was turnpiked in 1807.
Settlers came from England, Scotland, and Ireland to live in this province of Pennsylvania where freedom of religion had been guaranteed by its founder, William Penn. The earliest organized religious group were the Presbyterians, who in 1720 formed what we know today as the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church.
They were followed by the Quakers who in 1724 founded the Sadsbury Meeting House. A year later, the English settlers formed their church at St. John's Church, Pequea, at Compass.
Andrew Moore (1688-1753), who had been influential with Samuel Miller in founding Sadsbury Meeting House, built a tub mill on his property and usage by the settlers in this area. Many older residents will remember the old Moore Mill as Chalfanat's Paper Mill seventy years ago. Andrew Moore's son, James, also had a grain mill powered by water from the east branch of the Octorara Creek.
The earliest settlers in the vicinity of Atglen appear to have been the Philips and the Moores. The former owning much of the valley upon which the borough of Atglen now stands, and the latter the hilly area north of the borough west to Nobleville, south of present day Christiana.
Nearby Towns: Christiana Boro • Highland Twp • Sadsbury Twp • Sadsbury Twp • Salisbury Twp • West Fallowfield Twp • West Sadsbury Twp •