Birmingham's early settler, John Cadwallader, settled on a hill above the Little Juniata River and made plans to establish a large city.

[citation needed] In the first several decades of the 19th century, the village grew quickly as a hub for commerce being carried on the Little Juniata River and on the nearby Pennsylvania Canal.

[citation needed] In 1853, the Mountain Female Seminary opened in Birmingham as a boarding school for girls.

In its earliest years, the school benefited from the ease of transportation afforded by the passage of the Pennsylvania railroad through Birmingham.

[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), all land.