In Adams County before 1800, the population centers were towns, villages or hamlets. The distinction between them was the number of people who lived in each. Their formation and development depended upon the local economy as the craftsman, merchants and other supported themselves. Settlements which formed after 1800 usually remained as hamlets. Two Taverns, along the Gettysburg-Littlestown Road was named for the two large stone houses which in the early days functioned as taverns.

Early in the County’s history, residents petitioned the courts for roads to help end isolation of the area. By 1770, a road to serve Adams County as a link to Baltimore was established. The Shippensburg Road or the Gettysburg-Petersburg (Littlestown) Turnpike, follows closely the present Route 97.

If a settlement had grown large enough to be recognized as a town, it would have the presence of a post office. On May 8, 1794, Congress authorized the creation of “post roads” for mail delivery to the “post offices” established along these routes. The Shippensburg Road (The Baltimore Pike) was such a road. Two Taverns was a post town for nearby a century. The post office was discontinued in 1922 and mail service came from Gettysburg.

Gettysburg on April 7, 1807, granted entrepreneurs the right to construct an artificial road through Petersburg (Littlestown) to the Maryland line. The act stated that any farmers travelling to one portion of his farm to another need not pay tolls. People attending church or funerals also were exempt from tolls on the Gettysburg to Petersburg Turnpike. The Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Company in 1904 imposed regulations for the passage on the road, which included (various toll fees on) sheep, cattle, horse and rider, wagons, stage coaches, sleighs and sleds. These regulations along the Turnpike were also applied to “traction engines” and automobiles.

When the turnpike was established, the toll gate keeper expected the traveler to inform him of the distance traveled. Fines were imposed on travelers who misinformed the gate keeper of on those who made detours around the gate to avoid paying the toll. (Bloom, 1992) The road was also used for moving mail, which was often carried by stage coaches. The Gettysburg-Petersburg Turnpike was in existence from 1804-1914. However, the final acquisition of the toll road by the state was not completed until 1919.