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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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      Nicole Witmer
      
Interview of Nicole Witmer by Alan Schultze on March 25, 2015. Witmer discusses growing up on a farm outside of Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the physical changes to the landscape as farms are replaced by warehouses in the area. She further talks about her school experiences including being home schooled, attending Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, and Shippensburg University.

      Wanda Hunter
      
Interview of Wanda Hunter for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Hunter discusses growing up as a Black Woman in Carlisle including the history of the Carlisle School District's segregation and integration policies, and Lincoln Cemetery.

      Highlighted Entries    
    
      Emma Louise Thompson McGowanEmma Louise Thompson McGowan was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1876. When she was thirteen years old, McGowan moved with her family from Winchester, Virginia to Carlisle, Pennsylvania escaping the devastation of the South and seeking a new life in the North.

      Phebe Paine: Educator (1802-1872)
      
In recollections of her life in Carlisle, Mary C. Dillon, author of the novel “In Old Bellaire,” wrote about the faculty circle of Dickinson College. She said that it included “the brilliant spinsters, Miss Sarah and Miss Phoebe Paine, who had a finishing school for young ladies on West Street

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      Letters: John and William Holmes of Carlisle to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell,1775, 1776
      
The 60-foot by 33-foot, two-story stone building on High Street, just east of St. John’s Episcopal Church, is where several generations of merchants operated their businesses.
Read more about Letters: John and William Holmes of Carlisle to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell,1775, 1776

      Letters: From Merchant Ephraim Steele to Philadelphia Merchant John Mitchell, 1775, 1776Ephraim Steele was one of several Carlisle merchants who did business with Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell. The method of doing business and the kind of goods ordered are revealed in these three letters written in 1775 and 1776.
Read more about Letters: From Merchant Ephraim Steele to Philadelphia Merchant John Mitchell, 1775, 1776

      Letter: From the Committee of Correspondence to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell, 1775We have been favoured with your letter of the 14th of this month; and look upon ourselves and this county to be much obliged to you for the trouble you have been kind enough to take in purchasing ammunition for us.
Read more about Letter: From the Committee of Correspondence to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell, 1775

    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...