The town has two Catholic pilgrimage sites: the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is on the campus of Mount St. Mary's, and the Basilica and National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who was the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized as a saint.

[4] The Seton Shrine is one of the top eight Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the United States.

The current commissioners are Amy Boehman-Pollitt, Jim Hoover, Valerie Turnquist, Kevin Hagan, and Cliff Sweeney.

[7] However, a settlement (named first "Silver Fancy" and later "Poplar Fields")[8] preceded the town, particularly since British authorities restricted colonists' expansion during and after the French and Indian War.

In 1757 Lutherans led by pastor George Bager built a church, which they shared with a German Reformed congregation until 1798.

Soon, the number of Methodists in Emmitsburg led to the formation of a circuit around town, rather than share a minister with Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Folklore has it that "The Great Fire", as it was known, was started by a Union sympathizer to prevent advancing Confederates from taking supplies from the town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.52 square miles (3.94 km2), all land.

U.S. Route 15 is the main highway serving Emmitsburg, providing connections northward to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and southward to Frederick.

U.S. Route 15 Business follows the old alignment of US 15 through the center of Emmitsburg, with the main highway now following a bypass on the east side of town.

Maryland Route 140 is the other main highway traversing the town, which provides connections eastward towards Westminster and eventually Baltimore.