The Shrewsbury area was one of the first Pennsylvania settlements west of the Susquehanna River. Located midway between Harrisburg and Baltimore, Maryland, an important north-south transportation route known as the Potocas Trail ran through the town's center. What began as a quiet farming area in the late 1700s developed into a commerce center of furniture and sewing factories by the late 1800s. Today, its central business area, now on the National Register of Historic Places, is the antique hub of southern York County. Shrewsbury continues to provide peaceful living for many who work in the Baltimore area.