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Welcome to Lancaster ...

Lancaster is located in Lancaster County<1> and is the County Seat for Lancaster County.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Lancaster, you might consider that their post office opened in 1803.

See our Genealogy Helper Page for Lancaster for more information about variations on the name of Lancaster.

Lancaster is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<2>.

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

Area Codes for Lancaster: 804 & 686<3>

The ZIP code for Lancaster: 22503<4>

Communities Also Named Lancaster ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 38 communities that are also named Lancaster - they are located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (3), Indiana (3), Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri (2), New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New York, Newfoundland and Labrador, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon (2), Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lancaster.

Communities near Lancaster ...

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

  • Kilmarnock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Urbanna
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Irvington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • White Stone
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Monaskon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Monaskon is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monaskon
  • Ottoman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ottoman is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottoman
  • Lara
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lara is located in Northumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lara
  • Remo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Remo is located in Northumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remo
  • Lynhams
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lynhams is located in Northumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynhams
  • Millenbeck
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Millenbeck is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millenbeck

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 Lancaster. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Lancaster.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Lancaster. 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 Lancaster.

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

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Lancaster ...

Looking for more information about Lancaster? 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.

In addition to the Tourism page for Lancaster, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Lancaster.

Adding Lancaster to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Lancaster in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Lancaster was in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (1803).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Lancaster.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Lancaster, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Lancaster - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 804 code has been Overlayed with the 686 area code. New phone numbers in the Lancaster area will be assigned with one of these codes: 804 or 686. As a result, placing a call in the Lancaster area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Lancaster). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Lancaster or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.