[7] While William Penn received a royal grant in 1681, rights to the land that became Springettsbury Township were purchased from local Native Americans in the early 1700s before it was settled.

The "Treaty of 1736" acquired a clear title for Penn's heirs to the lands west of the Susquehanna River.

After a southern border dispute with Maryland was resolved, a re-survey in the 1760s found that the manor contained 64,250 acres (26,000 ha).

Located just east of the current Penn Oaks development,[10] the camp housed 1,500 prisoners, Continental Army guards, and their families.

The poor accommodations and shortages of food, clothing, and medicine contributed to the spread of disease such that hundreds died and were buried in mostly unmarked graves nearby.

Yorktown prisoners arrived in 1782 and Camp Indulgence was built nearby, outside the stockade, with similar huts but with less security and easier parole for about 600 residents (non-commissioned officers and some women and children).

[11][12] An archeological dig found Camp Security's stockade post holes in October 2022,[13] and work to uncover more remains of the site continued in 2023.

[8] Springettsbury is not known to have had any Civil War battles, though a Confederate brigade from Georgia, commanded by General John B. Gordon, gathered in the township two miles east of York on June 28, 1863, before marching eastward to Wrightsville.

A covered wooden bridge was burned by the Union army to prevent the Georgia brigade from crossing the Susquehanna River.

Gordon arranged a bucket brigade to save the town from the spreading fire, and departed the next morning.

After a Spring 1891 election, the petition was presented to the county courts and studied by three commissioners who decided "in favor" of the change.

Service to Wrightsville ended in 1932 (or 1933)[16] while the frequency increased to every 20 minutes between York and a station at Kershaw Street.

Bus service replaced the trolley in the 1940s, and the tracks were removed in the early 1950s when a fourth lane was added to East Market Street.

[20] Springettsbury Township hosted a 101-acre (41 ha), 1.5-million-square-foot (140×10^3 m2) Caterpillar manufacturing plant[21] from 1953[22] until its closure in the 1990s, when the company continued operating a comparatively smaller parts distribution center.

[21] In late 2016, Post Consumer Brands filed plans to move into a newly built 755,000-square-foot (70,100 m2) logistics center within the Harley-Davidson campus off Eden Road in the township.

The 80,000-square-foot (7,400 m2) casino has over 500 video poker and slot machines, a full-service restaurant, and Pennsylvania's first retail Barstool Sportsbook location.

[31] According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 16.7 square miles (43.4 km2), all land.

Springettsbury Township is governed by a board of five supervisors who are elected at-large by voters for six-year terms.

Various boards and commissions are also formed to address specific issues such as subdivision planning, zoning, recreation, historical preservation, and recycling.

In late 1969, plans began for a new firehouse, and 8.5 acres (3.4 ha) of land along Sherman Street was purchased in March 1970.

The first fire apparatus had chemical tanks, was built on a donated Buick chassis, included 150 feet (46 m) of 1-inch (25 mm) hose, and was stored in an individual's garage.

After a public meeting and sensing citizen support, the fire company bought a pumper in 1947 and a service truck was added in 1952.

The township supervisors informed the fire company in November 1956 that they had acquired a piece of land, formerly owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad, as a new building location.

[37] The company joined the Fireman's Association of York County in February 1961, and took delivery of new apparatus in March 1963.

[38] On July 10, 2013, ground was broken for the third location of a fire and EMS station in the eastern part of the township, to replace one built in 1958.

At a cost of $3.8 million, the new 4-bay 15,500-square-foot (1,440 m2) station[40] opened in 2014 at 50 Commons Drive, an equally new road between Eastern Boulevard and East Market Street.

The former property at 3013 Market Street was sold to a developer and its building torn down in 2015 for construction of a 15,680-square-foot (1,457 m2) "Firehouse Shoppes" shopping center.

[44] The current park and recreation board has seven members with staggered four-year terms; they meet monthly except August and December.

[45] Most of the township parks include picnic shelters, grills, basketball courts, and playground areas.

[47] In late 2015, the department joined others across the U.S. and opened "safe zones" at its station where online sales may be completed, such as with the exchange of items or money.