Millersville

Come explore Blue Rock, where modern amenities meet scenic charm. Situated in northern Lancaster County amid rolling hills and farmland, Blue Rock gives residents a quiet place to call home with proximity to the vibrant city of Lancaster. “This part of the county is way more populated and developed than further south,” says Darrell Coyle, Realtor with Charles & Associates Realty. “There are options for dining and entertainment, and it’s got easy access to Route 30, which can take you directly to larger cities like Philadelphia. It’s still pretty rural but has some modern amenities.” Take a drive along the area’s main thoroughfare, Blue Rock Road, and you’ll find acres of cornfields that span as far as the eye can see, dotted by rustic barns and farmhouses. Blue Rock’s residential neighborhoods have wide, curving roads. You’ll see a variety of architectural styles that include colonials, Cape Cods and transitional-style homes. These houses are set back on level lots that average a half-acre with long, paved driveways that lead to side-entrance garages. Lawns are tidily landscaped with a mature tree or two shading the yard. In Blue Rock, you can get a three-bedroom ranch home for around $300,000, a four-bedroom colonial for around $425,000 or a spacious four-bedroom transitional-style home for upwards of $500,000. According to Coyle, inventory is low in the area, and houses sell quickly. Students in Blue Rock attend Hambright Elementary School, Manor Middle School and Penn Manor High School, which all belong to the Penn Manor School District. This school district receives an overall grade of A- from Niche, with particularly high ratings in the categories of academics, teachers and college prep. Penn Manor High has a variety of academic programs in fields such as agriculture, engineering, technology and world languages. For fresh air and exercise, head to John Herr Park on Ironstone Ridge Road. This peaceful 22-acre park is adjacent to Manor Middle School and features play areas and paved walking trails. Bring your racket for a few friendly tennis matches or enjoy some disc golf on the well-maintained course. Manor Township Community Park on Charlestown Road is another nearby green space offering playgrounds, athletic fields and scenic views. Fish by the creek or have an afternoon barbecue at one of the pavilions. Pick up groceries at John Herr’s Village Market on Manor Avenue. This family-owned local shop has a quaint, old-timey atmosphere and boasts a large selection of local produce, dairy and meats, as well as pantry staples. While you’re there, check out the hot food and salad bar for a satisfying meal. If you’re in the mood for pizza, swing by Two Cousins Pizza across the street for deliciously cheesy pies or opt for stromboli instead. For shopping, you’ll want to hop in the car and head 5 miles east to bustling Lancaster, where you’ll find familiar big box stores like Target as well as dozens of smaller retailers. Take in some historic beauty at The Mill at Manor Falls, located on Old Blue Rock Road. This fully restored 1800s grist mill now operates as a wedding and celebration venue. The picturesque property is bordered by the Little Conestoga Creek and includes a rustic bridge, manicured grounds and waterfalls. Nearby Route 30, which runs east-west, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, makes it easy to get anywhere you need to go. If you’re looking for a small town with top-rated schools and a gorgeous landscape, Blue Rock may be just the place.

Named for the Federal-style estate where President James Buchanan spent most of his adult life, Wheatland is a suburban neighborhood just 3 miles outside of downtown Lancaster. This namesake mansion is now a National Historic Landmark, but the rest of Wheatland has forged its own path through a diverse array of home styles and restaurants. Varied housing styles sit along the neighborhood’s residential streets, which straddle Columbia Avenue and its assortment of cuisines. Spacious green parks, the Conestoga Country Club and A-rated public schools give this quiet community a classic suburban appeal. Home styles throughout Wheatland’s residential areas vary from manufactured homes and townhomes to sizeable contemporary and colonial-influenced properties. In the Pheasant Ridge subdivision, quaint mobile homes can be found from about $50,000 to around $115,000. Sections with townhomes and duplexes offer 1,000- to 1,800-square-foot units with shared driveways and attached garages that range from $235,000 to $270,000. Houses near Columbia Avenue include Foursquares and bungalows that feature wide front porches, with street parking and sidewalks common in these areas. There are also subdivisions on the north side and to the south near the golf course that are shaded by mature trees, where cottage, Cape Cod and colonial styles sit alongside raised ranch homes and the occasional midcentury modern built, some tucked away from the street with multicar detached garages. Single-family homes in the community can range from 1,000 to 3,500 square feet in size, with price tags between $220,000 and $465,00. Columbia Avenue, also known as Lincoln Highway, holds most of Wheatland’s shopping and dining. A casual go-to for dinner and drinks, Tobias Frogg is a Key West-themed grill with an outdoor patio and bar that puts a tropical flair on cocktails, tacos and burgers. The avenue is also home to an array of culinary flavors, from Indian and Nepalese at Namaste, Szechuan Chinese at Yi Pin and Mexican at El Serrano. Along with small shopping centers, storefronts and fast-food eateries, this main drag has a few grocery options, including Lidl, Giant and Everest Grocery. An even larger selection of boutique shopping and trendy eating can be found around Lancaster Square, just 3 miles east. Centrally located in Wheatland, Greider Park offers public green space with walking trails, baseball diamonds and soccer fields. There are also multiple playground areas around the park, outdoor basketball courts and pavilions. South of Greider Park is Manor Township Community Park, where there are similar amenities. "Little Conestoga Creek goes through the park, with bridges that go over the creek,” says Mark Harris, Public Works Director for Manor Township. “The pickleball court and sand volleyball court are very popular and get a lot of use.” Near this park is the Conestoga Country Club, a private club with an 18-hole golf course, an outdoor pool and a pub. “We also have a fabulous rail trail, converted from a former railroad and trestle bridges. It’s a little over 5 and a half miles,” Harris adds. For indoor recreation, Castle Roller Skating on the east side of town entertains roller skaters and arcade gamers inside a castle-themed facade. Wheatland public school students zoned for the Penn Manor School District begin at Eshleman Elementary and progress to Manor Middle, both of which receive an A-minus grade from Niche. Penn Manor High School, also graded an A-minus, is the No. 2 Best High School in Lancaster, according to Niche. This school offers a variety of student clubs, including esports, and two graduates were recently named to play on the United States Women’s Field Hockey team in the 2024 Summer Olympics. A private education option in Wheatland, Lancaster Friends School is a Quaker-focused kindergarten through eighth-grade school. Being a skip from downtown Lancaster means more opportunities for community-wide gatherings and festivals. “We’re a Certified Welcoming city,” says Megan Schmidt with the Lancaster Welcome Center. “There’s a melting pot of culture here in Lancaster City, and we welcome people from all walks of life.” Popular monthly events in this area include First Fridays and Music Fridays, which happen on the third Friday of each month from May through September. “For First Fridays, local stores are open later, and a local market sets up on the streets,” Schmidt says. “And for Music Fridays, whether you’re a band or someone who just wants to sing, you can sign up to perform on any street corner within the city.” Lancaster is home to the oldest – dating back nearly 300 years ago – and largest – more than 30,000 residents – Amish community in the country. This faith-based culture promotes a simple way of living, so while Lancaster maintains a modern lifestyle with electricity and highways, it’s common to see fresh produce stands set up and horse-and-buggies traveling along the sides of the roads. There is also a large Quaker, also referred to as Friends, community in Lancaster, dating back to the pre-Civil War era. There are five remaining Friends meetinghouses in the county today, one being in Wheatland. In addition to traditional Quaker worship at Friends Meeting House, there are other Christian churches in the area. Tinsae Kristos is an Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Iglesia Casa De Bendicion is a Spanish-speaking church, and Journey of Faith Church is non-denominational. Columbia Avenue, or Lincoln Highway, is the main thoroughfare through Wheatland and is a direct route to Lancaster just 3 miles to the east. This road also has several Red Rose Transit, or RRTA, bus stops that follow the bus system’s Route 17. About 2 miles north of the neighborhood is U.S. Route 30, and Lancaster Airport offers flights through Southern Airways and Breeze 6 miles north of there.

Even cozier than the pioneer wagons named after Lancaster's signature riverway, Meadia Heights might be far from the Golden Coast but desirable place to settle in its own right. Just past the city of Lancaster’s southern boundary, Meadia Heights is a small suburban community nestled along the various bends of the Conestoga River. Most of the area’s homes were built in the last 40 years as growth trended outward. Though it’s more sparsely populated than the city’s neighborhoods, residents are clustered in apartments, town houses and single-family houses that are part of contemporary residential developments featuring sidewalks, playgrounds, clubhouses and ample parking spaces. “There’s a lot of new construction happening out that way,” says Christine Nolt, a Lancaster County native and partner in Kingsway Realty with the Nolt & Bailey Team. “The section of townhomes is especially affordable. And they sell fast because it’s a great place to live for families.” Home prices in Meadia Heights are on par with average housing costs in the Lancaster area. Modest three-story town houses and split-level homes with a driveway or attached garage can range from $200,000 to $300,000.If you're seeking a newly built home or a custom-build, however, expect about $350,000 to $500,000. While the various subdivisions have different names, the neighborhood’s name is derived from the nearby Meadia Heights Golf Club, a private institution established in 1922. In addition to its 18-hole championship course, the club includes a swimming pool and a clubhouse restaurant. If golf and membership fees don’t interest you, locals can still enjoy the lush green environment at D.F. Buchmiller County Park, a nearly 80-acre public space with playgrounds, picnic pavilions and other amenities. Still located within the city school district, Nolt says some of her past clients moved to the area for the school division’s Gifted and Talented program, which places exemplary students on unique lesson plans to meet their advanced learning needs. At Hamilton Elementary, students learn to be part of a community at an early age, participating in monthly assemblies, working at the school’s community garden and celebrating holidays and events like the yearly, Thanksgiving feast and spring musical. Across from the Martin School, which serves students K-8th grade, kids and adults play games at the Comet Field Park’s outdoor ball fields. After middle school, students from the community generally take the bus or drive across the city to attend McCaskey High School. Meadia Heights is predominately residential with only a few businesses located in shopping centers along busy roads. At Millersville Commons near Comet Field Park and the Martin School, residents enjoy pizza, smoothies, poke bowls and burgers at one of the various restaurants in the suburban shopping center anchored by a Sheetz gas station. A few miles away on Millersville Pike, a Weiss supermarket, Regal movie theater and Guitar Center occupy a larger U-shaped strip mall at the Manor Shopping Center. Though there are fewer places to shop and dine in Meadia Heights, the neighborhood offers a tranquil place to live without sacrificing access to necessities or entertainment in downtown Lancaster less than four miles away.

Stretching south of Lancaster, South New Danville’s rolling hills and farm fields form a picturesque landscape home to a small rural community. South New Danville is an unincorporated community within the Peaquea Township. Its name comes from the area’s main thoroughfare, the New Danville Pike, which passes through New Danville, a small one-stoplight town. “There’s only a few businesses, a tiny strip mall and a fire company,” says Jesse Hersh, a local Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services who grew up in neighboring Millersville. “It’s mostly rural farmland.” Further south of central New Danville, you’ll find lines and pockets of residential development. The area’s homes generally start at about $250,000, which can net a modest ranch-style home or split-level house. Home prices can jump significantly from there, as colonial-style brick and stone houses built within the last 40 years can range from $500,000 to $2 million. The highly rated Penn Manor School district encompasses the neighborhood, so students generally attend Conestoga Elementary and Pequea Elementary, Marticville Middle School and Penn Manor High School. Niche ranks the school district as the fourth best in the Lancaster Area and gives it an A- with high marks for academic success, teacher quality, and student readiness for college. For more than 50 years, Pine View Dairy has served as a communal gathering place where people come for nourishment and diversion. Established in 1971, the dairy operates a farm store and ice cream parlor where guests can visit its cows in the barns, allowing kids to see firsthand how the dairy gets its milk. Near the New Danville Fire Company, Cherry Hill Orchards lets visitors explore its grounds to pick baskets of cherries, blackberries, apples and peaches. The site also includes a market and garden center where you can buy flowers, jams, fruit pies, cheeses and farm-fresh eggs. While the picking season is only in the summer, you can return to the garden center in December to bring home a Christmas tree. There are only a few stores and places to visit in South New Danville, but residents are about 5 miles away from downtown’s lively arts, music and food scene. Also close are a few busier rural localities with national and regional franchise restaurants and some mom-and-pop shops. And while Lancaster, with its jobs and offices, is conveniently close, South New Danville’s residents are only a couple hours away from other cities and metropolises such as York, Harrisburg, Baltimore and Philadelphia.