A New Township is Born -- Little Britain Township was not one of the original townships of Lancaster County, but it was among the first organized based on court records. On February 7, 1738, a petition was set forth by many of the inhabitants of Drumore Township to separate and create another township. The reason was because the community was getting too large and the residents suffered many inconveniences by being under one township. When it came time to divide Drumore Township into two, the community had a hard time deciding on a name for the new township. Many names were proposed and many names were considered. Finally, John Jamison one of the oldest and most prominent citizens, proposed that it be called Little Britain Township because most of them came from Great Britain. So in memory of the "mother country", the new township became known as Little Britain. For over one hundred years, Little Britain Township's boundaries remained unchanged, until 1844 another township was formed known as Fulton.

Boundaries – After Fulton Township was formed, new boundaries were established for Little Britain Township. Little Britain Township was now bounded on the northeast by the western branch of the Octorara Creek, which separates it from Colerain township; on the southeast by the main Octorara creek, which separates it from Chester county; on the northwest by Drumore township and on the west by Fulton township. The extreme length from North to South was approximately eight miles, and the width from the Fulton Township line to Pine Grove Bridge was over five miles.

Original Acreage -- Original Acreage – This area has perhaps the earliest documentation of land ownership in the county. In 1714, Alexander Ross took out a warrant for 500+ acres for a northern track of land, and in 1735, Elisha Gatchell and Henry Reynolds took out a warrant for 600+ acres in the southern track of land. Elisha kept 300+ acres and Henry kept 300+ acres. The nearly 1200 acres were eventually sold and divided into various segments of land which constitute part of what is now Little Britain Township.

Early Villages -- The Township had within its limit several small villages that thrived with the prosperity of the country. The village of Kinseyville was in the extreme south on a one hundred and twenty five acre track of land. The Kinseys erected an extensive blacksmith shop and tilt hammer as well as a number of houses. After Abel Kinsey's death the blacksmith shop was converted into a spoke factory, and later turned into a sawmill. Kirk's Mill, which was the next village above Kinseyville, was started by Jacob Kirk. The village consisted of a mill, a store, and a post office. Also within its limit was Eastland Friends' Meeting house, which was a place for worship and meetings, and a school house which accommodated the neighborhood. About two miles north of Kirk's Mill was the village of Elim, which is now Little Britain. Within this village there was a post office, a store, a blacksmith, a wheelwright shop, a dentist's office, and a public school house. A mile and a half east of Elim was Oak Hill, the public center of the township, where all the public transaction took place. Public elections and various meetings took place here; all of the township books were kept here for public viewing. Oak Hill had a large hotel (seen at right) to entertain strangers, a store house, a spoke mill, a blacksmith shop, and a public school. Approximately one and a half mile northeast of Oak Hill was a village by the name of Ashville now known as Tayloria. The village was named after Phineas Ash who was very wealthy and held considerable amounts of property at the time. The village consisted of a store, wheelwright shop, and a meeting house (originally built by the Friends). Two miles northwest of Ashville was Oak Shade – Spring Hill village. Oak Shade only had a blacksmith shop, and most of the people didn't reside there. About half a mile west was Spring Hill where most of the population resided. Spring Hill got its name because of a strong spring of water flowing out of a hill northward of the place. A little over a mile northwest of Oak Shade was a village call Fairmount. Fairmount had a general store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, and a public school. Also located in this village was a station for the Peach Bottom Railroad.

Railroad -- One mode of transportation back at that time was the Peach Bottom Railroad (narrow gauge) which entered the township from Chester county (crossing the Octorara), passes up the west branch (on its southern side) to King's Bridge, then turn up a small summit beyond Fairmount station. The train then descended a small branch of the Conewingo until it crossed the township line into Fulton. Before reaching the Fulton House, the train passed four stations which were located in Spruce Grove, White Rock, King's Bridge, and Fairmount. The railroad was used as public transportation and for the shipment of goods from one place to another.

Mining -- Blacksmiths and wheelwrights were important to the area, but the most notable industry was the chrome mines on the Wood farm, commonly known as "the Wood mines". Isaac Tyson Jr., of Tyson mining in Baltimore, purchased the land from the Wood family and began extracting chrome until 1883. Tyson had chrome mines along the East Coast as far north as Vermont, but the chrome pits on this land was the most productive in the world and furnished a large portion of the chrome of commerce. In 1883, the mines were filled with water and closed. Eventually, the land and all of its contents were re-acquired by the Wood family to be used for farming purposes. During World War II it was thought the mines might open again, but it was not feasible.

Worship -- There were two public churches within the township where the people could gather for worship. Eastland Friends' Meeting house and burial ground was established in 1792. Without being large, the meeting house was sufficient for those who worship in it. In 1848 a lot was purchased at Ashville to erect another Friends' meeting house, which was also used by others denomination to hold worship services when the Friends didn't have their meetings. The meeting house was used a number of years by the Friends, but after the trustees who held the property died, the premises were sold to the Presbyterian for their use and benefits. The Little Britain Presbyterian Church and the Little Britain Friends' Meeting house at Penn Hill were originally named when Little Britain and Fulton were one township.

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