In the decades following the Civil War, single-family residential development gradually spread over the low hills surrounding the village center. Roaring Spring's patterns of growth were largely determined by the periods of expansion for the paper mill and the Roaring Spring Blank Book Company, an affiliated business. The opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad branch line from Altoona in 1871 also stimulated a great deal of growth. During these periods, parcels of adjacent land or woodland were purchased and subdivided for new house construction. Through the 19th century, one of the larger private developers was D. M. Bare. One example of his work is the lots along Park Avenue, a site which he subdivided and sold off in 1885 after acquiring the George Spang Farm.