Landisburg grew from land first tied to Andrew Montour, a French/Indian trader whom colonial officials appointed in 1752 to live north of Kittatinny Mountain to help restrict illegal European-American settlement on Indian lands. After the Treaty of Albany deeded the land to the William Penn family in 1754, Montour bought hundreds of acres along the New, or Trader's, Path, and Montour Run on Landisburg's western edge bears his name. After passing through two owners, part of this land was acquired in 1787 by Abraham Landis of Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, who laid out 72 lots in 1793, giving rise to Landisburg. Near the foot of Waggoner's Gap, the town became a thriving crossroads village linking Carlisle and Sherman's Valley, drawing settlers to its fertile, well-watered valley and supporting early merchants. It became the site of Perry County's first physician in 1799, first courthouse in 1820, first agricultural fair in 1821, first newspaper in 1822, and first masonic lodge in 1825. As county seat from 1820 to 1827, it attracted legal professionals, additional businesses, and artisans including inn and tavern keepers, blacksmiths, tanneries, grist, saw and fulling mills, potters, clock makers, hatters, and a nailer, followed in later decades by coverlet weavers and health professionals. Forest resources supported tanning, barrel making, hoop poles, and cabinet making, while the early 19th century also brought churches, schools, the Landisburg Artillery militia, and a short-lived fire department. In the early 1900s, a car dealership, jeweler, movie house, clothing stores, and other retail businesses flourished, and the Bank of Landisburg, founded in 1903, continues to thrive. As the 20th century advanced, however, industry and most commerce declined with the advent of automobiles and paved roads, leaving Landisburg as a notable 19th century architectural time-capsule at the beginning of Perry County's early history.