Existing comment:
A Gettysburg Timeline:
Frontier to Established Settlement:
1735 to 1835:
After the Revolutionary War, the land around Samuel Gettys' tavern was surveyed for a town.
Before 1735, this area was wilderness and saw occasional battles over land ownership and hunting rights between roaming Native American tribes. By 1735, Scotch-Irish homesteaders were arriving, clearing forests and planting crops. Soon roads from established eastern settlements were constructed to help develop the frontier, and inns were established every six or eight miles, a day's travel.
Many of these early inns became towns. In 1786, the land surrounding the Samuel Gettys tavern at the intersection of the Nickolson's Gap and Shippensburg-Baltimore roads was formally laid out as a town by the innkeeper's son, James Gettys.
In 1800, the town, called Gettysburg, became the county seat for the newly created Adams County. Dynamic growth in building construction, local industry, town infrastructure and social development followed. Free public elementary education and two institutions of higher learning, the Lutheran Theological Seminary and Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) were established by 1835.
Gettysburg's water system, established in 1825, was unique for a rural town. The system distributed water by gravity flow via buried wooden pipes to both public and private subscribers.
First Adams County Courthouse, 1804 to 1859:
The two-story brick courthouse was placed in the center of the town square and opened for business in 1804. It was razed in 1859 when it was replaced by a larger structure built on the corner of Baltimore and West Middle Streets.
Tavern To Town:
Samuel Gettys built his residence and tavern around 1775. When son James bought his father's 116-acre tavern property and laid out a town plot, the tavern became the first building in the new town of Gettysburg.
James Gettys, Founder of Gettysburg:
James Gettys' plan for a town was incorporated in 1786. Before his death at age 56 in 1815, James served his town and Adams County as town clerk, sheriff, treasurer, county representative in the state legislature, and as an officer of local militia in the War of 1812.
The Rev. Alexander Dobbin's House:
Built in 1776, this substantial stone structure served as the manse for prominent Presbyterian minister Rev. Alexander Dobbin. Here Dobbin hosted important church and community meetings and established a "classical school" for young men. The house is now the oldest in the borough of Gettysburg.
The Academy Building, Corner of West High and South Washington Streets:
Built in 1813 to house the Gettysburg Academy, it became the temporary home of the new Lutheran Theological Seminary. After 1832, the building served the same purpose for the newly founded Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College. After the college moved to its present location in 1837, the building served as a private female academy. It temporarily served as a hospital during and following the battle of Gettysburg.
Christ Lutheran Church:
This church has been in continual use since opening in 1835. During its first 100 years, it served as the church of the Lutheran Seminary and Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College students and town parishioners. On July 1, 1863, its doors were opened to Union surgeons as a hospital. Nursing care for the wounded during and immediately after the battle was provided by local women volunteers and later by the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster.
Lutheran Theological Seminary:
The Seminary opened in 1832 to house students and classroom facilities. It was later named Schmucker Hall after its founder and first president, Samuel S. Schmucker. On July 1, 1863, it was surrounded by fierce fighting and suffered severe damage. Beginning that evening and continuing for two months, it served as a hospital for wounded of both armies. |