| Mastersonville, Pennsylvania | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | Pennsylvania#USA |
| Pushpin Label: | Mastersonville |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Pennsylvania##Location in the United States |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Pennsylvania |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lancaster |
| Subdivision Type3: | Township |
| Subdivision Name3: | Rapho |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 40.1967°N -76.4872°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Mastersonville is an unincorporated community located in Rapho Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by Thomas Masterson in the early 1820s.[1]
Thomas Masterson emigrated from County Cavan, Ireland around 1823 and built a stone house north of the village. Later he became postmaster. Thomas Jr. became manager at the Hopewell Forges for the Coleman Ironworks.[2]
At one time, Mastersonville was one of the most thriving villages in the township.[3] Thomas Sr.'s son Joseph constructed additional brick houses. Joseph and Benjamin Masterson established a store in a large brick building. Joseph's son, John S. Masterson succeeded his father in the business. He also was postmaster and a Justice of the Peace.[2]
The Exchange Hotel was built by Samuel R. Zug. Zug was one of the founders of Chiques Church of the Brethren and instrumental in the founding of Elizabethtown College. A conscientious objector during the Civil War, as were a number of area farmers,[4] he was later a Justice of the Peace. Zug and Joseph Masterson were at one time partners in land speculation.
Around 1876, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, William B. Thome, son of Dr. Joseph S. Thome of Lawn, established a medical practice in Mastersonville, where he remained for ten years before relocating to Milton Grove.[5]
The Mastersonville volunteers Fire Department covers an area of about fifty square miles, of mostly farmland and single-family dwellings.[6]