[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.4 square mile (1.2 km2), all land.

Turbotville is the northernmost town in Northumberland County, and is surrounded on all sides by Lewis Township.

The settlement was originally called Snydertown, after Philip Reifsnyder, believed to be one of the first European-American settlers of the area.

Reifsnyder, a blacksmith by trade, built a tavern southwest of the intersection of Main and Paradise streets; it was operated by his wife.

Prior to being incorporated, the town name was changed to Tributville (spelled Turbotville today).

The residents of Turbotville (formerly spelled Tributville) presented a petition for incorporation as a borough to the Northumberland County Court of Quarter Sessions at the April term in 1858.

In August Andrew J. Muffly was appointed as commissioner to take depositions in the matter; his report was considered at November 1858 session, and on January 3, 1859, a decree of court was granted for this incorporation.

The "Charter for the Incorporation of Turbutville in to a Borough", a handwritten account is noted on three consecutive pages (379-381) in a deed book dated April 6, 1859, located at the Northumberland County Courthouse in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

Holy Spirit moved to a new location in Lewis Township, and the former church building is now privately owned.

The first Turbotville High School was a wood-framed structure erected on present-day Church Street.

As the building became outdated and was considered too costly to heat, a new brick high school was erected on Pine Street in 1937, built during the Great Depression.