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Image: Dam on Mountain Creek by Jim Bradley
An initiative of the Cumberland County Historical Society the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library seeks to fulfill the Society's mission of collecting, engaging, and sharing the stories of Cumberland County.

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      Sylvia A. WatersInterview of Sylvia A. Waters for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Waters discusses the history of her families connection to Cumberland County, PA including her father's family in Newville. Waters then talks about growing up on B Street in Carlisle and attending the old Wilson and Lamberton Schools.
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      Mary Ann Shughart
      
Interview of Mary Ann Shughart by Carolyn Osborn for the Cumberland County Historical Society. Shughart discusses her life including her experiences during World War II while her husband, Dale F. Shughart, was serving in the military.
 
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      Helen H. Stevens (1902-1994)
      
Born in Chicago on September 18, 1902, Helen Stevens was a long-time and very active member of the Carlisle community, whose life work was associated with finding assistance for individuals needing mental health services.

      Isabella Oliver
      
Isabella Oliver, (July 16, 1771—June 7, 1843), once known as the “poetess of the Conodoguinet,” or more colorfully as that creek’s “muse,” was the second--and the first female--published Cumberland County poet in 1805 with Poems on Various Subjects, following the unknown writer of The Unequal Conflict in 1792.

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      Letter: To Mr. James McManus, Merchant from H. W. PetersonA gentleman squires young ladies around the State Capitol.
Read more about Letter: To Mr. James McManus, Merchant from H. W. Peterson

      Letter: To Charles Penrose from Mary Penrose, 1839Mary Penrose is writing from Point Celeste sugar plantation in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana to her brother Charles B. Penrose in Carlisle. She is urging him to help.
Read more about Letter: To Charles Penrose from Mary Penrose, 1839

      Letter: To Miss Margaret McCandlish in Newville, PA, 1839It was a cold Sunday night in Pittsburgh when James McCandlish sat down and wrote a letter to both his niece Margaret and her father. He is thrilled to get a coat for the winter, and he updates them on the goings on in Pittsburgh. He writes “I don’t want anybody to see this but them that should.”
Read more about Letter: To Miss Margaret McCandlish in Newville, PA, 1839

    Railroads
  
Jim E. Largent Sr.Largent discusses his experiences growing up and his time working for a railroad company. Watch Story...
Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg Railroad“The Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg Railroad was built with the backing of the Cumberland Valley Railroad primarily to haul iron ore from the vast reserves around Dillsburg to furnaces in the Harrisburg region. Read Article...
Hey Ollie, Let's Go RailroadingReproduced below are a number of the photographs which were displayed at the Cumberland County Historical Society as an exhibit "Hey Ollie, Let's Go Railroading." Over 250 photographs were put on display as a tribute to all the railroaders, both here and gone, who worked in the Cumberland Valley. Read Story...