The town came into existence due to the building of rail lines through the area. Local farmers Francis and Wesley Miller sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad to be used as a flag station. Mr. Miller was given the honor of naming the train station. He named the station "Enola", after his daughter. Miller at the time was the only resident living in the area. Eventually, when more people moved to the area the local post office and surrounding town adopted the name as well. In the fall of 1902, the Pennsylvania Railroad made the decision to build a classification yard "between Marysville, Pennsylvania and West Fairview, Pennsylvania." In 1903, their agent, the Manor Realty Co. purchasing, officially opened the yards in January 1905. Of the 743 acres, the Enola Realty Co. bought for $26,500. This would officially become known as Enola. The Realty Company went on to build more than 220 homes which it rented or sold to families coming to the village looking for employment. South Enola grew almost as rapidly as North Enola. Some of the landowners were Mann, Bretz, Darr, Ruplay, Pyne, and Addams. West Enola also grew with the boom of the Enola Yards. The largest landowner of that time was Britton. Other large landowners were Lantz and Renninger. Enola is served by a single high school, East Pennsboro High School. Originally named Enola High School, it was built on farmland which had been owned by the Gutshall family from the late 1800s until the 1940s. It is located at 425 West Shady Lane, parallel to Gutshall Road. The original one-room school house is located on 98 South Enola Drive.
Geography
Enola is located near the eastern edge of Cumberland County at. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of, of which is land and, or 1.04%, is water. It is on the west shore of the Susquehanna River facing the city of Harrisburg. U.S. Route 11/15 runs north-to-south through Enola.
Education
serves as the public education center for Enola. The district consists of four schools: East Pennsboro Area High School, East Pennsboro Area Middle School, East Pennsboro Elementary School, and West Creek Hills Elementary School with a total enrollment of about 2,900 students.
George W. Fisher, first Yard Master of the newly built Enola Yard, then the largest freight yard in the world. He was an employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad when he, his wife, and eight children moved from Philadelphia to Enola in 1906 for him to assume his new position.
