Upper Allen Township near Mechanicsburg in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Union Hotel
240 Old Gettysburg Pike
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.
Location. 40° 10.682′ N, 76° 59.47′ W. Marker is near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, in Cumberland County. It is in Upper Allen Township. It is on Old Gettysburg Pike just north of South York Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 240 Old Gettysburg Pike, Mechanicsburg PA 17055, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania and in Greater Harrisburg. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Mechanicsburg Cemetery Civil War Memorial Plaza (approx. 2.2 miles away); Civil War Memorial (approx. 2.2 miles away); Colestock Home for Old People (approx. 2.2 miles away); Simpson Ferry Road (approx. 2½ miles away); Occupation of Mechanicsburg (approx. 2.6 miles away); Union Church (approx. 2.6 miles away); Frankenberger Tavern (approx. 2.6 miles away); Irving Female College (approx. 2.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mechanicsburg.
Also see . . .
1. Union Hotel (Shepherdstown, Pennsylvania). Wikipedia article (Submitted on July 4, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)
2. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for the Union Hotel.
This form was prepared in 1988 by William C. Davis, the owner of the building. A statement of historical significance can be found on page 22:
The Union Hotel, built in 1860 by Abraham W. and Mary J . Zook, is significant under criterion "A" as an excellently preserved example of a 19th century inn alonga major early north-south state constructed road, and as an example of the commercial enterprise which grew up directly as a result of early state actions to encourage transportation.
And then on page 24:
Historically the Union Hotel is significant for the role it played as a principal stopping place for travelers on the old "State Road" linking Harrisburg with Maryland. Inns and hotels figured prominently in local transportation and commerce in the 19th century, and inns along this road in particular witnessed an enormous burgeoning of traffic in the years following the Civil War. Indeed, by the early 20th century, the old State Road, upon which the Union Hotel is the dominant hostelry in Cumberland County, had become U.S. Highway 15, and remained so Harrisburg's major highway link to the south until construction of a new divided highway in the late 1960's.(Submitted on April 1, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on April 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 887 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
