Hanover

First settled in the 1730s, Hanover has entered the spotlight of American history more than a few times. Thomas Jefferson spent a night at one of town’s inns on his way to draft the Declaration of Independence, and in 1863, Hanover’s streets were the site of the first Civil War battle north of the Mason-Dixon line. Today, the small Pennsylvania town has established itself as a snack food manufacturing hub, with the Hanover Historic District acting as the community’s geographic and social nucleus. “I like Hanover’s community. Everyone is friendly, and it feels like living in Mayberry. And people like to preserve their culture and their family traditions. That’s what’s most special about Hanover,” says Stacey White, Realtor with Coldwell Banker who has been selling properties for 12 years. “Even though they could get a brand-new home, many locals would prefer to preserve the past and keep the home of their family.” Broc Schmelyun, a longtime resident of York County, similarly observes Hanover has a friendly, small-town aura to it that keeps locals sticking around and has started to attract outsiders. “We have a saying here: ‘The walls of Hanover are high,’ meaning a lot of people who were born here end up staying here,” the Realtor with Re/Max says. “But we also get a lot of transplants from Maryland, too, who are looking for cheaper houses. You cross the state line, and there’s a 10-20% difference in value.” The Hanover Historic District offers a host of restaurants in the community’s downtown by the intersection of Carlisle Street and Broadway/Frederick Street. The Famous Hot Weiner has been slinging hot dogs for over 100 years, making it one of the oldest extant eateries in all of York County. Tacos y Tortas Mexican Restaurant is colorfully decorated with red and green walls and Mexican artwork. Dishes on the menu include Cuban sandwiches, steak burritos and chimichangas. Merlin’s Coffee brews a variety of coffees and even sells and grinds beans for visitors to take home. This cat-themed café also offers pastries and sandwiches. Foodies also can choose from a variety of restaurants a few miles to the south in neighboring Parkville. Genova’s To-Go bakes pizza pies and strombolis while Dutch Country Restaurant serves comfort food such as angel food cake French toast. White recommends Taphouse 6 and is especially fond of the restaurant’s Chesapeake pretzels, soft pretzels topped with crab dib. The Hanover Historic District features a few specialty grocery stores such as Vinny’s Italian Market and Super Store Produce Market, which has Latin American products. A community farmers market operates out of the Hanover Market House, which typically features over 30 vendors. The market runs every Saturday morning. For larger stores such as Giant supermarket and Walmart Supercenter, shoppers can drive a few miles south down Carlisle Street, which turns into Parkville’s Baltimore Street. Residents of the neighborhood’s north side can visit the many big-box big box stores which line Eisenhower Drive and Wilson Avenue. They include Giant, Kohl’s, Lowe’s Home Improvement and Sam’s Club. Encompassing nearly 5,000 houses, the Hanover Historic District comprises a significant portion of the city and contains a diverse assortment of homes. The neighborhood’s oldest residential constructions date to the 1880s and follow American Four Square, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival designs, characterized by their symmetry and fine building material. “A lot of homes have ornate marble columns; Federal-style balanced windows and doorways; colored, art deco tiles; and detailed moldings,” White says. Historical stewardship is a big deal in Hanover, but homeowners have more flexibility than they would in nearby communities such as Gettysburg. “They’re a bit bigger on the historical preservation side,” Schmelyun says. “You still have to get permits and approval here before working on your historic home, but we’re more open about what you can do.” Moving into the 1920s, homes follow bungalow and Cape Cod designs before giving way to the ranch-style builds and split-levels of the 1950s through the ‘70s. New Traditional and other contemporary constructions are popping up on the neighborhood’s periphery, and residents have a good deal of options to choose from. “One of the biggest things about Hanover is how many large-scale builders we have in the area,” Schmelyun says. “We have Dan Ryan, LGI, DR Horton and two large-scale local builders.” Prices typically run between $150,000 and $430,000 based on condition, though new constructions can reach $700,000. Townhouses, with construction dates ranging from the 1860s to the 2020s, are scattered across the neighborhood, along with the occasional condo. These builds typically sell between $60,000 and $350,000. Hanover is small in size but big in economic opportunity, particularly with regards to food manufacturing. “We’re known as 'The Snack Food Capital of the World,'” White says. “We’re home to Utz and Snyder’s, and Wolfgang Chocolate is just over in York. A lot of people find gainful employment through these businesses. Many offer factory tours, and Utz gives you a free bag of chips when the tour ends. When I moved here, I gained a ton of weight, because they have so many snacks here!” Other employers that Smith and Schmulyen highlight include Elsner Engineering Works, Conewago Enterprise and Quinn Flags. The Hanover Historic District abounds with festivities around the year from a Fourth of July fireworks show to the annual Halloween Parade with floats and costumed marchers. “Hanover parades are just amazing. People put their chairs out by the streets days in advance to secure a spot for the parades,” White says. White also recommends attending the Snack Town Street Fair which takes place in mid-July. The event features food and craft vendors, kids’ activities and live entertainment and is free to the public. Codorus State Park lies just 4 miles east of the Hanover Historic District, a 3,500-acre green space with a ton of amenities. The park features 19 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails, campsites, a disc golf course and more. The park surrounds the 1,275-acre Lake Marburg, which is popular for fishing and boating and attracts many bird species such as ospreys and great blue herons. Smaller parks scattered through the community include W. Roy Attlesberger Park, a tree-shaded green space with benches and a horseshoe pit, and DeGuy Avenue Playground. Smith recommends exploring the 21-mile York County Heritage Rail Trail. “You can ride your bike and watch the train go by. There’s development on one side and the country on the other, and little streams that you ride over,” she says. The nearest parking is available at the Hanover Junction Station 14 miles to the neighborhood’s east. Washington Elementary serves kindergarten through fourth grade students, while Hanover Middle serves fifth through eighth grade students. Along with Hanover Senior High School, Washington Elementary earns an overall B-plus from Niche. Hanover Middle is B-minus-rated. All three of these schools are located within a mile of each other on the north end of the Hanover Historic District. Hanover Senior High offers a STEAM academy with courses including biotechnology and robotics. Carlisle Street/Baltimore Street serves as the neighborhood’s primary thoroughfare, running concurrently with Pennsylvania Route 94. Baltimore, Maryland is approximately a 50-mile drive south, which comes out to a one-hour commute if traffic is clear. UPMC Hanover hospital sits near the heart of the neighborhood. Several Rabbit Transit bus routes make stops in the neighborhood such as 20N, 20S and 22N. Line 16 runs to York 20 miles northeast.