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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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      Highlighted Stories    
    
      Shirley I. HeishmanInterview of Shirley Heishman for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Heishman discusses her life growing up in Bloserville outside of Newville, Pennsylvania including her experiences working on her parents farm to meeting her husband Don Heishman and their many business ventures from hauling milk, water, and whey to building the Heishman Softball Complex.

      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.
 
      Highlighted Entries    
    
      The Tavernkeeper’s Wife: Elizabeth PopeBeing the wife of a tavernkeeper meant that Elizabeth helped with the running of the tavern as well as taking care of her family. Washing, cleaning, cooking in a hot kitchen over a fire for hours as well as helping in the barroom was hard work.

      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.

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      Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his Brother Attorney James Hamilton in Carlisle, 1793When Thomas Hamilton (c. 1767-1829) wrote this letter he had been in America for eight years. He was living in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania and was appointed the Prothonotary of the county that year. He would move to Kittanning, Pennsylvania in 1809 where he lived until his death in 1829. He was a very religious man and never married.
Read more about Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his Brother Attorney James Hamilton in Carlisle, 1793

      Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his brother James Hamilton, Carlisle, 1789 A coolness in the relations between Thomas Hamilton and his brother James has developed. In this letter that Thomas writes from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, he addresses circumstances that may have led to the rift and lays them out with the hope of restoring good relations.
Read more about Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his brother James Hamilton, Carlisle, 1789 

      Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his sister in Belfast Ireland, 1786This is the first of three letters from Thomas Hamilton, a nineteen-year-old young man from Belfast, Ireland who has come America to settle. He is writing to his sister in Ireland to tell her the news of her their brother, attorney James Hamilton of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, (1752-1819) and his new bride, as well as his experiences while surveying in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, etc.
Read more about Letter: Thomas Hamilton to his sister in Belfast Ireland, 1786

    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...