The land was occupied by Native American tribes until 1758, and permanent European colonization did not start until 1763, after the French and Indian War. Nevertheless, by 1750, a hamlet known as Sidneyville had grown to 11 squatters cabins. The homes of these early settlers were burned by order of the provincial government to maintain the peace and to demonstrate to Native Americans that their ownership would be respected. Participants in the burning included Conrad Weiser, Richard Peters, George Croghan, and Benjamin Chambers. The area developed as a linear village along eighteenth century roads that led from Philadelphia across the Tuscarora and Allegheny Mountains to Pittsburgh. Burnt Cabins first developed along a pack horse trail that generally followed an earlier Indian trail. In 1755 the Forbes Road expanded the trail to get British troops and supplies in place to take Fort Duquesne. In 1771 the Three Mountains Road was opened to connect Burnt Cabins more directly to Shippensburg. However, by 1815 the Chambersburg and Ft. Bedford Turnpike was opened, bypassing both Burnt Cabins and Shippensburg from the most direct route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Surprisingly, Burnt Cabins benefited by being bypassed by the turnpike, as the county population grew and drovers used the older, free roads to take their cattle to market. The entire village, consisting of about 44 buildings and 50 acres, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The village's development was most influenced by the construction of the Burnt Cabins Grist Mill, which still produces flour and is listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places. The town received international attention in May 1966 as a chief location of an eight-day manhunt for the ex-convict kidnapper of 17-year-old Peggy Ann Bradnick. The 1964 book Bread-and-Butter Indian by Anne Colver is set among Pennsylvania Dutch settlers in the Burnt Cabins community. It based on true events in the life of Barbara Baum which took place there in 1783. Burnt Cabin is in the Eastern Standard Time zone. Elevation is 889 feet.
