Image: Dam on Mountain Creek by Jim Bradley

The Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Logo

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.

Highlighted Stories

Betty Gardner

Interview of Betty Gardner for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Gardner discusses coming to Carlisle and her work with the Second Presbyterian Church in Carlisle.

Nhan Ai Simms

Image of Nhan Ai Simms during Interview

Interview of Nhan Ai Simms by Amanda Gautier and Megan Osborn on November 1, 2015 for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. The interview focuses on the Simms family and experiences in Carlisle and Cumberland County after Vietnam.

Highlighted Entries

Miss Margaret MacDonald (1760-1844)

Margaret MacDonald was born on June 22, 1760, one of Duncan and Sarah MacDonald’s four children.1 Her father, described as “the old Scotch highland piper,”2 likely served in one of the British regiments sent to Carlisle during the French and Indian War.

Emma Louise Thompson McGowan

Emma 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.

Dean Vaughn

Interview of Dean Vaughn for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Vaughn discusses growing up in Boiling Springs in the post-WWII era before volunteering for the United States Army. He then discusses how he developed his memory techniques while working for RCA in Thule, Greenland and what led him to establish his own company.