Shanksville garnered global attention during the September 11 attacks when United Airlines Flight 93, bound from Newark, New Jersey, for San Francisco, crashed in adjacent Stonycreek Township after its passengers rebelled against the flight's al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers.

Emmanuel Shaffer opened a store at the site in 1828, and the following year Shank laid out the town of Shanksville.

The town was the home of John Suhre, a Union army private who was fatally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg and whose last days are described in Louisa May Alcott's short novel Hospital Sketches.

[8] On September 11, 2001, during the terrorist attacks on the United States, Shanksville received worldwide attention after United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of the town of Shanksville, killing all 40 civilians and four al-Qaeda hijackers on board.

However, after learning from family members via airphone of the earlier attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, the passengers on board revolted against the hijackers and fought for control of the plane, causing it to crash.

It is where the FBI set up their command center and where family members first saw the aftermath of the crash, bringing their own memorials, and where visitors can leave them today.

The initial phase of permanent construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial, including the visitors' center, was completed by the 10th anniversary in 2011.

Shanksville's volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel from the nearby towns of Central City, Somerset, and others rushed to the crash scene to search for survivors.