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. 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. Participants in the burning included
Conrad Weiser,
Richard Peters,
George Croghan, and Benjamin Chambers. The area developed as a
linear village along eighteenth century roads that led from
Philadelphia across the
Tuscarora 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 expanded the trail to get British troops and supplies in place to take
Fort Duquesne. In 1771 the Three Mountains Road was opened to connect Burnt Cabins more directly to
Shippensburg. 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. Burnt Cabin is in the
Eastern Standard Time zone. Elevation is 889 feet. ==Demographics==