The community was incorporated as a borough on April 2, 1850,[4] following the passage of a bill by the Pennsylvania General Assembly that was introduced by Representative Joseph Konigmacher the previous month.

[6][7] In 1855, a new stage coach route was established from Lancaster to Reading, which included stops in the communities of Adamstown, Reamstown, Ephrata, New Berlin, and Oregon.

[8] The Kagerise Store and House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2), all land.

24.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was sixty-five years of age or older.

The Adamstown Area Library is located at 3000 North Reading Road.

It became a full-fledged member of the Library System of Lancaster County and is now responsible for providing library services to the 31,000+ residents of Adamstown, Brecknock, Denver, East Cocalico and West Cocalico.

It follows North Reading Road along a southwest–northeast alignment through the center of the borough, just southeast of Main Street.