Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Gettysburg is a borough
that is the county seat
, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield
, and the eponym
for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg
. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park
and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary
, Gettysburg College
, and Harrisburg Area Community College
.
Many roads radiate from Gettysburg, providing hub-like access to Washington, D.C.
75 miles (121 km), Baltimore 55 miles (89 km), Harrisburg
37 miles (60 km), Carlisle
27 miles (43 km), Frederick
and Hagerstown, Maryland
32 miles (51 km) and Hanover, Pennsylvania
14 miles (23 km). York
is 30 miles (48 km) east on the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30
) and Chambersburg is 25 miles (40 km) west on the Lincoln Highway
(U.S. Route 30
), the first transcontinental U.S. highway. Today the borough is a 2½ hour drive from Philadelphia and a 3½ hour drive from Pittsburgh via the Pennsylvania Turnpike
and U.S. Route 15
. Gettysburg Regional Airport
, a small general aviation
airport, is located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Gettysburg.
and Philadelphia - Pittsburgh cross roads with a 1761 tavern where soldiers and traders came to rest, and to the southwest is the 1776 Dobbin House Tavern
within the subsequent 1786 border established for the borough. After a " township location between "Hunter's
and towns" was planned as the county seat in 1790, in 1791 "Revd. Alexander Dobbin and David Moore, senior, were appointed trustees for the county of Adams [to erect] public buildings in…Gettysburg". The founder of the Studebaker Corporation was born 1833 in Gettysburg.
In 1858 the Gettysburg Railroad
completed construction of a railroad line from Gettysburg to Hanover
. The Gettysburg Railroad Station
opened in 1859. Passenger train service to the city ended in 1942. The station was restored in 2006 and is used as the Gettysburg railroad museum.
By 1860, the borough "had ~450 buildings [which] housed carriage manufacturing, shoemakers, and tanneries".
In June 2009, the Adams County Transit Authority implemented local transportation service to the borough operating under the name Freedom Transit
In June 2011, a Rabbit Transit
commuter bus to Harrisburg began service. It runs four times each weekday in each direction.
of 2000, there were 7,490 people, 2,541 households, and 1,229 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 85.46% White, 5.79% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.67% from other races
, and 2.38% from two or more races. 8.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,541 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the borough the population was spread out with 16.2% under the age of 18, 36.2% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
Median incomes for the borough were $40,489 (family) & $29,840 (household), $30,341 (males) & $21,111 (females), and $14,157 (per capita
). About 13.2% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 17 and 5.2% of those age 77 or over.
with hot, humid summers and cool winters. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the warmest month, and June is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Gettysburg was 104 °F (40 °C) in 1988; the coldest temperature recorded was -25 °F (-32 °C) in 1994.
(including the Gettysburg National Cemetery
) and the Eisenhower National Historic Site
. Gettysburg has many activities and tours to offer to vacationers and tourists that are interested in the Gettysburg area and the history of the community and the battle. Tourist for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg use the borough facilities, which include the Dobbin House Tavern
and Gettysburg Hotel.
, the Harrisburg Area Community College
, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
employ thousands of people in the borough.
, which is known as York Street east of Lincoln Square and Chambersburg Street west of Lincoln Square.
, and since 1987,
León
, Nicaragua
.
Borough (Pennsylvania)
In the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a borough is a self-governing municipal entity that is usually smaller than a city. There are 958 boroughs in Pennsylvania. All municipalities in Pennsylvania are classified as either cities, boroughs, or townships...
that is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
, and the eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park is an administrative unit of the National Park Service's northeast region and a subunit of federal properties of Adams County, Pennsylvania, with the same name, including the Gettysburg National Cemetery...
and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg is America's oldest Lutheran seminary and a site of 1863 Battle of Gettysburg military engagements.-History:...
, Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
, and Harrisburg Area Community College
Harrisburg Area Community College
HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College is a community college in the United States serving the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area. HACC is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools...
.
Many roads radiate from Gettysburg, providing hub-like access to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
75 miles (121 km), Baltimore 55 miles (89 km), Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
37 miles (60 km), Carlisle
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
27 miles (43 km), Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
and Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
32 miles (51 km) and Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...
14 miles (23 km). York
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
is 30 miles (48 km) east on the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...
) and Chambersburg is 25 miles (40 km) west on the Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
(U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...
), the first transcontinental U.S. highway. Today the borough is a 2½ hour drive from Philadelphia and a 3½ hour drive from Pittsburgh via the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...
and U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...
. Gettysburg Regional Airport
Gettysburg Regional Airport
Gettysburg Regional Airport , formerly known as the Gettysburg Airport and Travel Center, is a general aviation airport located two miles west of the Gettysburg, in Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA. The airport is situated approximately south of Harrisburg.The airport opened in 1926 and had been a...
, a small general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airport, is located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Gettysburg.
History
Samuel Gettys settled on the Shippensburg - BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
and Philadelphia - Pittsburgh cross roads with a 1761 tavern where soldiers and traders came to rest, and to the southwest is the 1776 Dobbin House Tavern
Dobbin House Tavern
The Dobbin House Tavern, known also as Dobbin House, on 89 Steinwehr Avenue in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is a tavern which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
within the subsequent 1786 border established for the borough. After a " township location between "Hunter's
Hunterstown, Pennsylvania
Hunterstown is an unincorporated community in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States....
and towns" was planned as the county seat in 1790, in 1791 "Revd. Alexander Dobbin and David Moore, senior, were appointed trustees for the county of Adams [to erect] public buildings in…Gettysburg". The founder of the Studebaker Corporation was born 1833 in Gettysburg.
In 1858 the Gettysburg Railroad
Gettysburg Railroad
The Gettysburg Railroad was a railway line in Pennsylvania that operated from 1858-1870 over the 17 mile main line from the terminus in Gettysburg to the 1849 Hanover Junction...
completed construction of a railroad line from Gettysburg to Hanover
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland.The town is situated in a productive agricultural region. The population was 15,289 at the 2010 census. The borough is served by a 717 area code and the Zip Codes of 17331-34...
. The Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
opened in 1859. Passenger train service to the city ended in 1942. The station was restored in 2006 and is used as the Gettysburg railroad museum.
By 1860, the borough "had ~450 buildings [which] housed carriage manufacturing, shoemakers, and tanneries".
In June 2009, the Adams County Transit Authority implemented local transportation service to the borough operating under the name Freedom Transit
Freedom Transit
Freedom Transit is the operator of mass transportation in the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Service began June 29th, 2009, with free rides for the first week of service....
In June 2011, a Rabbit Transit
Rabbit Transit (York)
Rabbit Transit is the mass transit service of York County, Pennsylvania. The agency currently operates 15 fixed routes within York County and express bus routes from Gettysburg to Harrisburg and from York to Harrisburg and Towson, Maryland .The agency, which...
commuter bus to Harrisburg began service. It runs four times each weekday in each direction.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 7,490 people, 2,541 households, and 1,229 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 85.46% White, 5.79% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.67% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.38% from two or more races. 8.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,541 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the borough the population was spread out with 16.2% under the age of 18, 36.2% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
Median incomes for the borough were $40,489 (family) & $29,840 (household), $30,341 (males) & $21,111 (females), and $14,157 (per capita
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
). About 13.2% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 17 and 5.2% of those age 77 or over.
Climate
Gettysburg has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa)Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
with hot, humid summers and cool winters. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the warmest month, and June is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Gettysburg was 104 °F (40 °C) in 1988; the coldest temperature recorded was -25 °F (-32 °C) in 1994.
Industry
The main industry of the borough is tourism associated with historic sites such as the Gettysburg National Military ParkGettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park is an administrative unit of the National Park Service's northeast region and a subunit of federal properties of Adams County, Pennsylvania, with the same name, including the Gettysburg National Cemetery...
(including the Gettysburg National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Cemetery
The Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in the Gettysburg Battlefield near the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery to the south...
) and the Eisenhower National Historic Site
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Eisenhower National Historic Site was the home and farm of General and President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Located adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the farm served as a weekend retreat for the President and a meeting...
. Gettysburg has many activities and tours to offer to vacationers and tourists that are interested in the Gettysburg area and the history of the community and the battle. Tourist for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg use the borough facilities, which include the Dobbin House Tavern
Dobbin House Tavern
The Dobbin House Tavern, known also as Dobbin House, on 89 Steinwehr Avenue in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is a tavern which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....
and Gettysburg Hotel.
Colleges and universities
The Gettysburg CollegeGettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
, the Harrisburg Area Community College
Harrisburg Area Community College
HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College is a community college in the United States serving the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area. HACC is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools...
, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg is America's oldest Lutheran seminary and a site of 1863 Battle of Gettysburg military engagements.-History:...
employ thousands of people in the borough.
Transportation
The main east-west road through downtown Gettysburg is U.S. Route 30U.S. Route 30
U.S. Route 30 is an east–west main route of the system of United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. It is the third longest U.S. route, after U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 6. The western end of the highway is at Astoria, Oregon; the...
, which is known as York Street east of Lincoln Square and Chambersburg Street west of Lincoln Square.
Media
- The Gettysburg Times, a daily newspaper.
- Raices De Todos, a bilingual monthly cultural magazine, serves the city's growing Latino/Hispanic population.
- The Evening Sun, a daily newspaper.
- "Celebrate Gettysburg," a lifestyles magazine dedicated to life in and around Gettysburg
- Gettysburg Daily a daily independent news outlet.
- WGET-AM 1320 and WGTY-FM 107.7, owned by The Gettysburg Times.
Sister cities
Gettysburg's sister cities are Gettysburg, South DakotaGettysburg, South Dakota
Gettysburg is a city in Potter County, South Dakota, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 1,162 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Potter County. Gettysburg area historical tornado activity is 42 percent less than the overall U.S...
, and since 1987,
LeónLeón, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
.