Heidelberg Township was formed in 1750 with an area of 9,030 acres. Its name derived from “Heidel,” meaning huckleberry, and “berg,” mountain, a reference to the picturesque wooded hills surrounding the city where huckleberry bushes grew in great abundance. Originally long, narrow, and very irregular in shape, it included what is now the Borough of Hanover. It was bordered on the north and south by Manheim until the northern part of that township was annexed to Heidelberg in 1816, one year after Hanover was incorporated. In 1783, Heidelberg had 191 houses, 116 lots, 29 slaves, and a population of 1,204. In 1880, the township entirely lost its identity when Penn Township was formed from part of its original territory and part of the 1816 annexation. The original area of Heidelberg now forms part of Conewago Township in Adams County, part of Penn Township, and the Borough of Hanover. The eastern section created by the 1880 division retained the name Heidelberg, but contains none of the original territory; until 1816 its present land was part of Manheim and was first settled by Mennonites and German Baptists as early as 1738.