Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation installs landscape lighting for homes across Mountville. Isaac Rohrer laid this town out in even lots back in 1814. That plan still shapes what each property has to work with. We design around your lot rather than a template. Free estimates arrive within a week, and repairs are scheduled in 1 to 2 weeks.
From Mount Pleasant to a Lincoln Highway Town
Rohrer divided his ground into 130 building parcels on January 11, 1814. Each one sold by lottery for $140. He called the place Mount Pleasant, after the high ground and the view it gave over the countryside. The post office made it Mountville in 1842, since the state already had a Mount Pleasant.
The turnpike through town later became part of the Lincoln Highway, dedicated in 1913. A log building on East Main dates to the 1730s and once served as a toll station. The borough itself was not incorporated until 1906. Two centuries of history sit inside less than a square mile.
A Street Where Every Lot Was the Same Size
Rohrer’s lottery gave this town remarkably even blocks. Same frontage, same setback, house after house. That uniformity is part of the appeal in daylight. After dark it becomes a problem, because a standard lighting plan makes four houses in a row look identical.
We start by finding what is actually different about your house. A bay window, a stone foundation, a mature dogwood, a particular roofline. Then we build the plan around that instead of the front door. Your neighbors keep their character and you get yours.
Making Your Address Readable After Dark
A beautifully lit house with an invisible number is a daily nuisance. Delivery drivers circle the block. Guests slow down and squint. In October, this town fills with visitors who have never been here before.
The problem is usually contrast, not brightness. A bright facade behind dark numbers erases them completely, because the eye adjusts to the brighter surface. We either light the numbers directly with a small dedicated fixture or pull the facade brightness down behind them. Either way, the number reads clearly from the street.
Light That Holds Up From a Distance
This town got its first name from sitting up high. Streets fall away from the center, so houses here are often seen from well down the block. Most plans are designed at arm’s length, standing in the bed. Then the owner drives home and the whole thing disappears.
We check the view from both distances before signing off. Close up, the detail work has to be soft and free of glare. From two hundred feet, only the strongest shapes survive, so those need enough weight to register. Getting both right is the difference between a plan that photographs well and one that works.
The Long Back Yard Behind an 1814 Lot
Those original parcels run deep, and plenty of back yards here are far longer than they are wide. The usual answer is one bright floodlight on the rear corner of the house. It covers twenty feet, leaves the rest black, and glares straight back at anyone sitting outside.
A long yard needs light spread down its length instead. Low fixtures along the walk, something soft at the mid point, and a quiet accent at the far end. The eye follows those steps and reads the whole depth. Nothing has to be bright for that to work.
Working Around the Porch Light You Already Have
On most properties, the porch fixture is the brightest thing outside. It also sits at eye height with a bare lamp behind clear glass. Your eyes adjust to that one hot point, and everything past it turns to black. People assume the yard is dark when the porch light is the actual cause.
We look at that fixture before adding anything new. Sometimes a frosted lamp or a lower wattage solves half the complaint on its own. From there, gentle light spread across the property lets your eyes settle. The yard feels bigger and safer without a single bright fixture in it. That approach runs through all our outdoor lighting work.
Runoff on High Ground and What It Does to Fixtures
Sitting on a rise has a downside. Water sheets off fast in a hard storm rather than soaking in. On the east side of town it heads for the West Branch of Little Conestoga Creek. On the west, it runs toward Strickler Run.
Fast runoff undercuts fixture bases and washes mulch straight over the lenses. We set fixtures on firm, compacted footing and keep them out of the natural drainage channels. Where a bed sheds hard, we shift the stake uphill of the flow. Checking for washout is part of every maintenance visit.
Why Choose Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation
Lancaster County homeowners expect the job done properly the first time. Here is what your project includes:
- Central PA properties handled by our crews since 2001
- Irrigation and outdoor lighting under the same roof
- A two year warranty standing behind every new install
- Manufacturer coverage carried on the fixtures we supply
- Special pricing for veterans and active service members
- Maintenance arranged monthly, quarterly, or seasonally
- A family owned company operating out of Dauphin County
We work throughout western Lancaster County, including nearby Columbia and Landisville.
Frequently Asked Questions
Every house on our block looks the same. How do you make ours different?
We stop treating the front door as the subject. On an even street like this, a standard plan produces an even result. Four houses end up looking like one. The fix starts with a walk around your property in daylight.
There is always something specific to work with. A stone foundation course, a porch bracket, a gable return, a good tree in the right spot. We build the plan around that feature and let the rest stay quieter. The house reads as yours rather than as the third one from the corner.
Can you make our house number visible at night?
Yes, and it is one of the most useful things we do. Most numbers vanish after dark for a reason people find surprising. It is not that the wall is too dark. It is that a brightly lit facade behind the numbers erases them. Your eye sets itself to the brighter surface.
There are two ways to fix it. A small dedicated fixture aimed at the numbers themselves, or a reduction in the facade brightness right behind them. We pick whichever suits the wall. Then we check it from a car at the curb, since that is where it actually matters.
Our porch light is all we have. Is that a problem?
Usually yes. A bright bare lamp at eye level creates a hot spot your eyes lock onto. Everything beyond it looks pitch black by comparison. Softening that fixture and adding gentle light around the property fixes far more than a brighter bulb ever will.
Our back yard is long and narrow. What works back there?
Layers rather than a floodlight. We space low fixtures down the length so the eye is led from one to the next. A soft accent at the far end gives the yard its full depth. One bright unit at the house does the opposite.
Storm water runs right across our yard. Will that hurt the system?
It can, if the fixtures sit in the wrong place. Runoff undercuts stakes and pushes mulch across the lenses. We set fixtures clear of the drainage path on firm footing. If something does shift, our repair team handles it on a service visit.
Contact Us
Evergreen Contracting & Irrigation is ready to walk your property. Free estimates arrive within a week, so nobody is left waiting on a number. Repairs get booked inside 1 to 2 weeks. Seasonal service keeps everything working long after the install is finished.
Call (717) 533-0606 or contact us today to book your consultation and get your property lit properly.