Several locations in Middletown are marked by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for their contribution to history. You may have noticed these markers around town but not taken the time stop and read what they had to say. Use the links below to learn more about these significant historic locations.


Burd Tombs
Middletown Cemetery, PA Route 441 North of Middletown

Col. James Burd of “Tinian”, able and gallant officer in the colonial wars, author of the Middletown Resolves for Independence, June 1774, and wife, Sarah Shippen, lie buried near the entrance of Middletown Cemetery.Forgotten Cemeteries

Camp George Gordon Meade
PA Route 441 North of Middletown near the Middletown High School

Covering three square miles, the former Cap Meade was situated a half mile to the north-west. Named for famed Civil War General, it was opened during the Spanish-American War and visited by President William McKinley on August 27, 1898.More information about George Gordon Meade

Middletown
PA Route 230 on the West side of Middletown

The oldest town in Dauphin County; laid out in 1755 by George Fisher, Quaker. It was an important port at the junction of the Pennsylvania and Union Canals in the 19th century. Site of early flour, lumber, and iron industries.

Nuclear Accident at Three Mile Island
PA Route 441 South of Middletown

On March 28, 1979, and for several days thereafter – as a result of technical malfunctions and human error – Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 Nuclear Generating Station was the scene of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear accident. Radiation was released, a part of the nuclear core was damaged, and thousands of residents evacuated the area. Events here would cause basic changes throughout the world’s nuclear power industry.Exelon Nuclear
PBS Feature – Meltdown at Three Mile Island
Washington Post – A Nuclear Nightmare in PA

Saint Peter’s Kierch
High & North Union Street

Cornerstone laid July 13, 1767, and dedicated in 1769 by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, patriarch of American Lutheranism. Church erected on ground provided by George Fisher, the founder of Middletown, for annual rental of “one grain of wheat.”

Union Canal
PA Route 230 Near the Swatara Creek

This canal was operated from 1828-1884. It connected the Susquehanna at Middletown with the Schuylkill at Reading, following the Swatara and Tulpehocken Creeks. Much coal and iron ore were transported. Course of canal was just west of old mill race.

Some information taken from the 2011 Middletown Borough website