Welcome to Vanilla ...

Vanilla is located in Franklin County<1>.

The location of Vanilla has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Vanilla, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1902.

Vanilla is 530 feet [162 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Vanilla lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Vanilla lies within the (717) area code.

Communities near Vanilla ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Vanilla.

• Hagerstown
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hagerstown
  • Hagerstown is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,918 people
  • Former name for Hagerstown:
  • Hager's Town
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hagerstown <4>
• Chambersburg
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
  • Chambersburg is located in Franklin County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,231 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chambersburg <4>
• Waynesboro
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesboro
  • Waynesboro is located in Franklin County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,906 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waynesboro <4>
• Greencastle
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greencastle
  • Greencastle is located in Franklin County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,989 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greencastle <4>
• Smithsburg
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithsburg
  • Smithsburg is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,969 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithsburg <4>
• Williamsport
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsport
  • Williamsport is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,074 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsport <4>
• Mont Alto
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mont Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mont Alto
  • Mont Alto is located in Franklin County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,729 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mont Alto <4>
• Mercersburg
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercersburg
  • Mercersburg is located in Franklin County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,527 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mercersburg <4>
• Hancock
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
  • Hancock is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hancock <4>
• McConnellsburg
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellsburg
  • McConnellsburg is located in Fulton County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McConnellsburg <4>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Vanilla. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Vanilla.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Vanilla. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vanilla.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Vanilla. See our Newspapers Page for Vanilla.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Vanilla ...

Looking for more information about Vanilla? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Vanilla, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Vanilla.

Adding Vanilla to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Vanilla in the GNIS. For more information, see the Referenced GNIS Codes section on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Vanilla was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Vanilla post office opened in 1902.

We also found Vanilla on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Pennsylvania (1911).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Vanilla.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Vanilla. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Franklin County: www.co.franklin.pa.us/

The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/