Burnt Cabins is a historic

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Dublin Township, Fulton County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, at the foot of Tuscarora Mountain. It is about 3 miles west of the Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel on

I-76 Interstate 76 may refer to: Interstate Highways in the United States * Interstate 76 (Colorado–Nebraska) * Interstate 76 (Ohio–New Jersey), running through Pennsylvania Video gaming * ''Interstate '76 ''Interstate '76'' is a vehicular c ...

(

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

) and the turnpike runs within 100 yards of the village. U.S. Route 522 also runs through the village.

History

The land was occupied by Native American tribes until 1758, and permanent European colonization did not start until 1763, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

. ''Note:'' This includes Nevertheless, by 1750, a hamlet known as Sidneyville had grown to 11 squatters cabins. The homes of these early settlers were burned by order of the provincial government to maintain the peace and to demonstrate to Native Americans that their ownership would be respected.ExplorePAhistory.com
/ref> Participants in the burning included

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a f ...

, Richard Peters,

George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...

, and Benjamin Chambers. The area developed as a

linear village Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

along eighteenth century roads that led from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

across the

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **'' Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

and Allegheny Mountains to Pittsburgh. Burnt Cabins first developed along a pack horse trail that generally followed an earlier Indian trail. In 1755 the

Forbes Road The Forbes Road, a historic military roadway in what was then British America, was initially completed in 1758 from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to the French Fort Duquesne at the junction of the Allegheny River, Allegheny and Monongahela River, Monon ...

expanded the trail to get British troops and supplies in place to take

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

. In 1771 the Three Mountains Road was opened to connect Burnt Cabins more directly to

Shippensburg Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan ...

. However, by 1815 the Chambersburg and Ft. Bedford Turnpike was opened, bypassing both Burnt Cabins and Shippensburg from the most direct route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Surprisingly, Burnt Cabins benefited by being bypassed by the turnpike, as the county population grew and drovers used the older, free roads to take their cattle to market. The entire village, consisting of about 44 buildings and 50 acres, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The village's development was most influenced by the construction of the Burnt Cabins Grist Mill, which still produces flour and is listed separately on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The town received international attention in May 1966 as a chief location of an eight-day manhunt for the ex-convict kidnapper of 17-year-old Peggy Ann Bradnick. The 1964 book ''Bread-and-Butter Indian'' by Anne Colver is set among Pennsylvania Dutch settlers in the Burnt Cabins community. It based on true events in the life of Barbara Baum which took place there in 1783. Burnt Cabin is in the Eastern Standard Time zone. Elevation is 889 feet.

ZIP code information

The Burnt Cabins ZIP code 17215 covers , a population of 437 and 163 housing units, 123 of them occupied. Note that this is not an official USPS website, but it includes a map.

References

{{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Fulton County, Pennsylvania Greek Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Populated places established in 1758 Unincorporated communities in Fulton County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania state historical marker significations Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania