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A Tale of Two Towns: Divergent Views of Eighteenth-Century Carlisle

Founded in 1751 by Proprietor Thomas Penn, the town of Carlisle was erected to meet the mounting social, political, and economic needs of the ever-increasing number of people settling the rich agricultural hinterlands of Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley. Once established, Carlisle served as both the official political and judicial seat of the newly-formed county of Cumberland and as one of the major social and economic focal points of backcountry  Pennsylvania—acting as a major transit point for many westward-bound travellers.

The Rev. Thomas Barton's Conflict with Colonel John Armstrong, ca. 1758

Historical discussions of the Penn family's hereditary rule in Pennsylvania and of the authority exerted by its appointees conveniently stress that in 1764 the Proprietary faction tacitly entered into a successful coalition with Dissenting elements (predominantly Scots-Irish Presbyterians) and poorly represented city dwellers and frontiersmen.

Mary Ann Shughart

Mary Ann and Judge Dale 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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