# Intercourse, Pennsylvania
**Intercourse**, an unincorporated village and census-designated place situated in Leacock Township within [Lancaster County, Pennsylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancaster-county-pennsylvania), lies at the center of Amish country, and its unusual name alone attracts tourists.[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582) The village dates to 1754, when it was founded as Cross Keys after a local tavern, and it sits at the crossing of Routes 340 and 772 in the middle of the county's largest Amish settlement.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Status | Unincorporated village and census-designated place in Leacock Township, Lancaster County; governed as part of the township rather than as an incorporated municipality[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582) |
| Founded | 1754 as Cross Keys, after a local tavern; renamed Intercourse in 1814[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) |
| Population | About 1,500 in the village (2020); the census-designated place counted 1,588 in 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates[3](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Intercourse) • [4](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4237016-intercourse-pa/) |
| Location | Crossing of Routes 340 and 772 in eastern Lancaster County, roughly ten miles east of the city of Lancaster[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) • [5](https://www.experiencepa.com/kitchen-kettle-village/) |
| Area and density | 1.9 square miles, 838.1 people per square mile[4](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4237016-intercourse-pa/) |
| Main attraction | Kitchen Kettle Village, a shopping village of more than 40 shops built around a jam and relish kitchen operating since 1954[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) |
| Film connection | The 1985 Harrison Ford film *Witness* was shot in and around the village[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) |
## Name and history
The village was founded in 1754 as Cross Keys, named for a local tavern, and kept that name until 1814, when Intercourse became official.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) • [6](https://lancasterpa.com/intercourse/) Several explanations exist for the new name, and no single account has been validated. One holds that the village sits where the Old King's Highway running between Philadelphia and [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) intersects with the road from Wilmington to Erie; another claims the entrance to a local race course was called the "Entercourse," which evolved into Intercourse; a third notes that in the language of the town's early days, "intercourse" described fellowship and social support in the community.[7](https://www.abandonedspaces.com/towns/unfortunate-town-names.html) • [8](https://www.discoverlancaster.com/blog/wacky-town-names-lancaster/) Most historians note that older meanings of the word referred to social intercourse or a crossroads where people met and exchanged goods or ideas.[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582)
Locally the name is treated as an ordinary placename with historical roots rather than a novelty, though the village frequently appears on lists of distinctive or unusual place names and draws visitors partly because of the sexually suggestive modern reading.[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582) • [3](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Intercourse) A church in the village, St. Mary's, traces its origin to about 1839.[9](https://ldsgenealogy.com/PA/books/History-of-Lancaster-County-Pennsylvania-with-biographical-sketches-of-many-of-its-pioneers-and-prominent-men-part-86.htm)
## Setting and demographics
Intercourse lies in eastern Lancaster County, about ten miles east of the city of [Lancaster](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancaster) along Route 340, surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farms where horse-drawn buggies share the road.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) • [5](https://www.experiencepa.com/kitchen-kettle-village/) Lancaster County as a whole counted 552,984 residents at the 2020 census and is home to the oldest and largest Amish settlement in the United States, with roughly 40,000 Plain-Sect community members across a 30-mile stretch of farmland east of Lancaster City.[10](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/csv/lancastercountypennsylvania/PST040225) • [11](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/articles/visit-amish-country)
The census-designated place covers 1.9 square miles and counted 454 households with an average of 3.5 persons per household, well above the state figure of 2.4, a pattern consistent with the large families of the surrounding Plain communities.[4](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4237016-intercourse-pa/) Median household income was $84,318, slightly above the Pennsylvania figure of $77,971, and the median value of owner-occupied housing units was $459,700, nearly double the state median of $254,500.[4](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4237016-intercourse-pa/)
## Economy and tourism
Intercourse's economy blends agriculture with tourism. Visitors come to learn about Amish culture, shop for handmade goods, and photograph the rural landscape, and local businesses include family-run farms, craft retailers, and services catering to visitors.[1](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582)
**Kitchen Kettle Village** is the anchor of the visitor area. It traces its origins to 1954, when Bob and Pat Burnley began canning jams and jellies in their two-car garage with a range, 30 kettles, and a half-dozen recipes.[12](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/our-village/how-it-began.asp) As tourism grew in the area's economy, the garage operation became a Jam & Relish Kitchen with a bake shop, and the surrounding village now holds more than 40 shops, restaurants, and lodging rooms; press materials report annual attendance of roughly 850,000 to one million visitors.[13](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/for-the-news-media.asp) • [14](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/in-the-news.asp) The village is closed Sundays, when Amish-owned businesses throughout the area observe the Sabbath.[11](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/articles/visit-amish-country)
Across town, The Old Country Store, the oldest store in the village, sells locally made quilts and Amish crafts and houses a quilt museum of vintage and antique Pennsylvania quilts upstairs.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) • [15](https://www.villageofintercourse.com/attractions) AAA Buggy Rides leaves from Kitchen Kettle Village for farm-lane loops, offering 35-, 55-, and 60-minute tours with Amish drivers, and the American Military Edged Weaponry Museum keeps a large collection of its kind.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) Food businesses include Stoltzfus Meats, curing hams and making sausage since 1954; Immergut soft pretzels; the Intercourse Canning Company; and Lapp Valley Farms ice cream.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) Lodging ranges from the adults-only Inn & Spa at Intercourse Village to the Carriage Corner Bed & [Breakfast](https://www.edgepedia.org/breakfast), founded in 1979 as the village's original bed and breakfast.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse)
## In popular culture
The 1985 [Harrison Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/harrison-ford) film *[Witness](https://www.edgepedia.org/witness-1985-film)*, set among the Amish of Lancaster County, was shot in and around the village; the comedy *[For Richer or Poorer](https://www.edgepedia.org/for-richer-or-poorer)* was set there as well, though not filmed in Intercourse.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse) • [3](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Intercourse) The village also hosts community events such as an annual Christkindlmarkt at the Intercourse Library.[2](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse)
## References
1. [Intercourse, Pennsylvania profile, AlegSaOnline](https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/47582)
2. [Things to Do in Intercourse, Lancaster County PA, Visit Lancaster PA](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/intercourse)
3. [Intercourse, Wikivoyage travel guide](https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Intercourse)
4. [Intercourse, PA, Profile data, Census Reporter](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4237016-intercourse-pa/)
5. [Kitchen Kettle Village: Inside Lancaster County's 40-Shop Jam Jar Empire, Experience Pennsylvania](https://www.experiencepa.com/kitchen-kettle-village/)
6. [Intercourse, PA, LancasterPA.com](https://lancasterpa.com/intercourse/)
7. [10 American Towns and Cities With Very Unusual Names, Abandoned Spaces](https://www.abandonedspaces.com/towns/unfortunate-town-names.html)
8. [The Wacky Town Names of Lancaster County, Discover Lancaster](https://www.discoverlancaster.com/blog/wacky-town-names-lancaster/)
9. [History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Part 86, LDS Genealogy](https://ldsgenealogy.com/PA/books/History-of-Lancaster-County-Pennsylvania-with-biographical-sketches-of-many-of-its-pioneers-and-prominent-men-part-86.htm)
10. [U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/csv/lancastercountypennsylvania/PST040225)
11. [Visit Amish Country in Lancaster, PA: A First-Time Visitor's Guide, Visit Lancaster PA](https://www.visitlancasterpa.com/articles/visit-amish-country)
12. [How It Began, Kitchen Kettle Village](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/our-village/how-it-began.asp)
13. [News Releases, Kitchen Kettle Village](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/for-the-news-media.asp)
14. [In the News, Kitchen Kettle Village](https://www.kitchenkettle.com/in-the-news.asp)
15. [Attractions, The Village of Intercourse](https://www.villageofintercourse.com/attractions)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Settlements and neighborhoods › Villages, hamlets, and rural localities › Villages and rural localities of the Americas › US census-designated places › Individual CDPs — Northeastern US*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license