York Springs was platted as Petersburg within Latimore Township. York Sulphur Springs, the first summer resort in Adams County, was patronized by people from Philadelphia and Baltimore who came to the resort by stage coach. General George Washington and his wife Martha visited the area in the summer of 1799. The water was regarded as medicinal but unpalatable. Analysis claimed 20 parts Epsom salts, 6 parts gypsum, 4 parts common salt, and the balance sulfur. The hotel was destroyed by fire on January 8, 1896. The Springs' popularity decreased with the construction of the railroad and the resort buildings disappeared. York Springs' previous names were York Sulphur Springs and Petersburg. To completely end confusion with Littlestown, when Petersburg became a borough in 1868 it was named York Sulphur Springs, later shortened to York Springs.
As of the census of 2000, there were 574 people, 186 households, and 129 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,836.0 people per square mile. There were 213 housing units at an average density of 1,052.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 94.77% White, 0.35% African American, 1.22% Asian, 3.31% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 24.56% of the population. There were 186 households, out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couplesliving together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.42. In the borough the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $41,071. Males had a median income of $28,173 versus $24,583 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,379. About 9.5% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.
