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March 2008 Newsletter
Did You Know... Hunterstown, formerly called Woodstock,
is one of the
oldest towns in the country.
It was established in 1741 by David Hunter,
a Revolutionary War soldier,
for whom the town was named.
Next
Meeting...
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008, 7 PM
at the Great Conewago Presbyterian
Church Chapel
To View the Historic Village of Hunterstown...
HUNTERSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
“A small but significantly Historical
Village”
Where
is Hunterstown located?
On Route 394 one mile East of the HUNTERSTOWN interchange of
Route 15 north of Gettysburg.
What makes
this village so special?
Founded in 1741, it is the second oldest town in Adams County and once vied for
becoming the County Seat of Adams.
Located on the once “Black’s Gap Road”, the main east-west road
in its day.
Location of the Historic Tate Farm and blacksmith
shop, where
President George Washington stopped in 1794 to have his horse shod
on his return from Pittsburgh at
the time of the Whiskey Rebellion.
Here the Cavalry converged during the Civil War in July 1863.
Location of the Felty & Gilbert Farms where
George Custer’s Cavalry met in battle with J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry on July 2, 1863, now viewed as having a very
significant bearing on the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg. Where Custer narrowly escaped losing his life.
Location of the Grass Hotel built in the 1700’s
served as a temporary Union headquarters of Brig. General Judson Kilpatrick during the battle
at Hunterstown. Several
generals died in this building.
The Great Conewago Presbyterian Church was organized in 1740.
The present fieldstone church built in 1787
is still in use today.
It served as a hospital during the Civil War.
The adjacent cemetery contains gravesites
of Revolutionary War soldiers and Civil War veterans along with generations of local inhabitants.
Location
of The Reliance Mining and Milling Company in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Not hugely successful but employed
many locals
during this period. Early paving of town streets contained residue
of its gold and copper.
Through the 19th and 20th century this village had a two-room country school, also a Methodist Church on the main street,
both still existing but not in use.
Among the inhabitants was a doctor, undertaker, watchmaker, shoemaker, carpenter, tailor,
and wagon maker. Interestingly enough, during the 1830’s John C. Studebaker, a blacksmith, and his skilled employees
built conestoga-type wagons in a shop
between Hunterstown and Heidlersburg. His descendents
later moved to Indiana
to have the largest company for
manufacturing wagons and carriages and later the Studebaker automobile.
Over the years Hunterstown had many small country
stores,
a post office, creamery, fruit-packing house, millinery store, gun club
and horse racing track. As many
as 10 families were chairmakers
as early as 1816 into the early 1900's. It once had a military guard unit
and
a baseball team. The village currently has two churches,
dog kennel and grooming establishment, horse boarding farm
with lesson programs, child care center, tea room,
go-cart track, car body shop, and transmission shop.
Hunterstown,
population 100, a village rich in history
where the desire of its people is to restore and preserve
what it now
has to share with others.
Here you can’t help but feel the heart beat of the past
and imagine those who
walked and rode these once dusty roads.
You may hear the distant toll of the school bell, the happy sounds of children
at play or music from the old church pump organ.
You may hear the hoof beats of the cavalry approaching
and the
sound of the artillery that echoed over the village.
Memories linger of the mournful groans of the injured and dying
in the fields and makeshift hospitals and the prayers of the faithful
as they gave their last full measure here.
Hunterstown, Pennsylvania
– A quaint little village with a story to tell!
Straban Historical Reflections
Linda K. Cleveland, Historian
To Contact Mrs. Cleveland...
HUNTERSTOWN......
on CWPT's "Top 10 Endangered Battlefield" List!!!
To Read More!
Please take the time to visit
our "Calendar of Events" page...
For Our July
2nd, 2008 Event!!!
Click Here...
"Beyond those stirring images of flashing sabers and pounding hooves, are the men who
endured the struggle in the wake of incredible hardship. Men who had to rise above the exhaustion, numbness, and stupor
of hard campaigning and respond to the call to arms when it appeared that there was nothing more to give...
In spite
of all the uncertainties of meeting the enemy,
they went forward willingly and gave their all....
It was not only
a test of wills but a triumph of the human spirit,
and above all else it is the spirit that endures."
"The Battle of Hunterstown" by Paul Shevchuk
North Cavalry Battlefield Giclees...
Hunterstown, Pennsylvania
July
2, 1863
Known by historians as "North Cavalry Field,"
Hunterstown was recently
recognized by the
National Parks Service (Sept. '06)
as part of the Gettysburg Campaign.
Unfortunately,
the site is extremely vulnerable
to development.
"And though Hunterstown is a new addition,
Lawhon said there is still work to do to help preserve the land within the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military
Park." .....Evening Sun quote
| The Jacob Grass Hotel |
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| Hospital Plaque Awarded by HGAC, www.hgaconline.org |
Local and National Contacts...
Civil War Preservation Trust
Also, Jim Campi, CWPT
Gettysburg National Park Service, Superintendant
Senator Robert P. Casey
Congressman Todd Platts
717-334-3430
Senator Terry Punt
717-334-4169
State Representative
Dan Maul
717-334-3010
Email Dan Moul
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