Bird-in-Hand

History

The area's first inhabitants were Native American Shawnee and Susquehannock people. The earliest European settlers of what was to become Bird-in-Hand were Quakers and Swiss Mennonites. James Smith was the first of the Quakers known to have settled in the area, arriving by the year 1715. William and Dorothy McNabb were pioneer landowners and the owners of the original Bird-in-Hand Hotel. The Quakers built a meetinghouse and two-story academy, which stands today, next to the present-day Bird-in-Hand fire company. In 1968 the Smucker family opened a small 30-room motel called the Bird-in-Hand Motor Inn, with an adjacent coffee shop, in hopes of capitalizing on the growing tourist trade in the area. In 1976 the Bird-in-Hand Farmers Market opened adjacent to the Bird-in-Hand Motor Inn. The town is home to the Bank of Bird-in-Hand, the first bank in the United States to open following the passage of the Dodd Frank Act.

Geography

Bird-in-Hand is in central Lancaster County, on the eastern edge of East Lampeter Township. Pennsylvania Route 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike) runs through the center of town, leading west to Lancaster, the county seat, and east to Intercourse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bird-in-Hand CDP has a total area of , of which , or 1.11%, are water. The area drains westward to Mill Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the Conestoga River, part of the Susquehanna River watershed.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,932
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  17,055
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,538
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  14,205
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,820
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  13,102
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  12,810
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,480

Largest nearby schools

• McCaskey Campus
  High · Lancaster · 2,620 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Manheim Twp HS
  High · Lancaster · 1,899 students · 16:1 ratio
• Penn Manor HS
  High · Millersville · 1,783 students · 17:1 ratio
• Ephrata SHS
  High · Ephrata · 1,317 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Conestoga Valley SHS
  High · Lancaster · 1,282 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Gerald G Huesken MS
  Middle · Lancaster · 965 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Manheim Twp MS
  Middle · Lancaster · 955 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Lampeter-Strasburg SHS
  High · Lampeter · 940 students · 16.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2021-06-25
  2 km SE of Woodlawn, Maryland
• M 2.81 — 2019-09-15
  5 km ESE of East Berlin, Pennsylvania
• M 2.64 — 2015-01-25
  4 km ESE of Downingtown, Pennsylvania
• M 3.05 — 2010-06-03
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania
• M 2.76 — 2009-10-25
  4 km ENE of Franklintown, Pennsylvania
• M 2.78 — 2009-07-01
  3 km ESE of Pennsville, New Jersey