ANTRIM TOWNSHIP

The Antrim Township Municipal Building is located at 10655 Antrim Church Road.

Antrim Township dates back to 1741, when it was part of the Penn’s Woods land grant from King Charles II of England. European settlers, primarily Irish and Scotch, settled here. Germans followed later. The name Antrim came from a county in Ireland. The people had already founded Moss Spring Church, which was Presbyterian, in 1738.

The new residents met the Indians already living in the area and the encounters were not particularly friendly. Several attacks occurred, the most notable during the Pontiac Rebellion in 1764. The Native Americans killed Enoch Brown and 10 of his students at a one-room schoolhouse. A park in Brown’s name now houses a monument honoring the deceased.

Antrim was also the site of the first Union soldier death north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The place north of Greencastle on U.S. 11 is marked for Corporal William H. Rihl of the First New York cavalry regiment.

The municipality is now home to around 16,000 people, who live on farms and country lots or in subdivisions and villages.

The government operates with a township administrator, Brad Graham, and five voting supervisors: Rick Baer, John Alleman, Chad Murray, Pat Heraty and Fred Young III. Meetings are the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7 p.m. at the municipal building on Antrim Church Road.

The township also meets residents’ utility needs through the Antrim Township Municipal Authority, which owns the wastewater and water treatment plants.

Other panels tend to particular interests of the township, including a Planning Commission, Zoning Hearing Board, Park Committee and Landfill Citizens Advisory Committee.

Agriculture is a major business, and Antrim is happy to provide a home base for a number of industries, large and small, as well as warehouses and other transportation and logistics facilities.

Recreation is considered important for citizens and visitors, so three parks are dedicated to play, relaxation and picnicking. Enoch Brown Park is just three acres with a pavilion, walking trails and a playground. Martin’s Mill Bridge Park is home to the historic 1849 covered bridge. It has been targeted for destruction and suffered the whims of Mother Nature on many occasions, but the people have always fought to preserve it. The township accepted the deed of dedication to the bridge in 2003. The scenic park along the Conococheague Creek has a pavilion, grill area, picnic tables and restrooms. It is a primitive setting with the trees and babbling waters providing a peaceful backdrop. Up the hill is Antrim Township Community Park, 136 acres used for a wide variety of recreational activities.

For more information, call 717- 5973818 or visit www.twp.antrim.pa.us