Best Trucking Insurance for New Authority Intercourse, Pennsylvania

Intercourse is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Leacock Township, Lancaster County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 10 miles (16 km) east of Lancaster on Pennsylvania Route 340. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,494, up from 1,274 at the previous census.

Intercourse is a popular site for tourists because of its location in Amish country and its sexually suggestive name. The movie Witness was filmed in Intercourse as well as other parts of the surrounding area, and For Richer or Poorer was set there, though not filmed in Intercourse. Because of the town’s unusual name, the sign posts for the town are frequently targeted by thieves.

Intercourse was founded in 1754. The community was originally named “Cross Keys”, after a local tavern. Intercourse became the name in 1814. The village website gives several theories for the origins of the name:

Another theory is that it is derived from a sign at an old racecourse on the edge of town which said “Enter course”.

Intercourse is located in east-central Lancaster County, in the center of Leacock Township. Pennsylvania Route 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike) passes through the center of town, leading west 10 miles (16 km) to Lancaster, the county seat, and east 22 miles (35 km) to Downingtown. Pennsylvania Route 772 (East and West Newport Road) joins PA 340 for two blocks in the center of town; it leads northwest 6 miles (10 km) to Leola and southeast 6 miles (10 km) to Gap.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Intercourse CDP has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.5 km), of which 0.6 acres (2,396 m²), or 0.04%, are water. Muddy Run, a westward-flowing tributary of Conestoga River, forms the northern edge of the community.

Intercourse has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) like the remainder of Lancaster County. Average monthly temperatures range from 30.1 °F (−1.1 °C) in January to 74.7 °F (23.7 °C) in July. The local hardiness zone is 6b.

According to the 2020 “ACS 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles”, 41.0% of the township’s population spoke only English, while 51.6 spoke an “other [than Spanish] Indo-European language” (basically Pennsylvania German/German).

Tourism and farming are major industries in the area. Small businesses sell Amish crafts, food, and give horse and buggy rides. The town thrives on thousands of tourists who visit the region each year. Most of the land surrounding the town is farmland.

The village’s name is often the subject of jokes relating to sexual intercourse. Along with that of Blue Ball, Pennsylvania, which could be mistaken for the slang term “blue balls,” a term for a temporary testicular and prostate fluid congestion due to prolonged and unsatisfied sexual excitement, the publishers of Eros Magazine sought mailing privileges from the postmasters of the town. Intercourse and Blue Ball are often named in lists of “delightfully-named towns” in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, along with Gap, Fertility, Mount Joy, Lititz, Bareville, Bird-in-Hand and Paradise. The village’s name has also been a source for humor on the Mennonite satire website The Daily Bonnet, in the episode ‘’The Old Man and the “C” Student’’ of The Simpsons as well as an episode of The Cleveland Show.