Historical Directory of Carlisle

Historical Directory of Carlisle. . , 1. PUBLIC SQUARE - deeded by Thomas Penn for public use and laid out in 1751, has continued its function through two historic centuries as the center of Cumberland and Carlisle life. , 2. CUMBERLAND CO. COURTHOUSE - SW corner of square, replaces a building destroyed by fire in 1845. This present building bears scars of Confederate bombardment of July 1, 1863. , 3. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - 1757, the oldest public building in town. George Washington worshipped here. , 4. FORT LOWTHER - as early frontier garrison stood astride High St. just west of the square. , 5. HAMILTON LIBRARY - and museum, 29 N. Pitt Street, contains early newspapers, historical documents and souvenirs of early Carlisle and the County. , 6. THOMAS BUTLER GUN SHOP - 1764, stands on the south side of Dickenson Alley, fifty feet west of Pitt Street. Here worked the “Fighting Butlers” – five sons and a father – who served in the Revolution. , 7. JAMES WILSON HOTEL - built on the walls of the home of James Wilson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. , 8. NOBLE HOUSE - 28 S. Pitt Street, presents an interesting Colonial exterior. , 9. J.H. BOSLER LIBRARY - on West High St. near West St., is a free town library. The first commission issued by the Continental Congress in 1778 hangs here. The recipient, Colonel William Thompson, id buried in the Old Graveyard. , 10. BELLAIRE HOUSE - 141 W. High Street, formerly the Parker residence, of Greek Revival Style, was the scene of a Civil War novel, “In Old Bellaire”. , 11. GEORGE WASHINGTON - at High and West Streets, reviewed militia departing to quell the Whiskey Rebellion in 1791. , 12. DICKINSON COLLEGE - at High and West Streets, was founded in 1773 as a grammar school. The original building was located in Liberty Alley, west of Bedford Street. The College was chartered in 1783. , 13. OLD WEST - 1804, the central and most imposing building of the group that faces High Street. Designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, the architect of the National Capitol. , 14. BOSLER HALL – near the junction of High and College Streets, contains the library, a Dickinsoniana collection and museum, and houses the College Chapel. , 15. GYMNASIUM - is on High St. facing Old West. , 16. SOUTH COLLEGE - on Church Alley is visible from High St. behind gymnasium. , 17. PRESIDENT”S HOUSE - 1833, is the building in which began the first law school in Pennsylvania, Dickinson School of Law. , 18. DRAYER HALL - a girls’ dormitory of the Benjamin Rush Campus west of College St., built 1952. , 19. BAIRD HALL - adjacent, named for the famous ornithologist, housing the laboratories and rooms of the Biological Sciences. , 20. SADLER CURTILAGE - the law school dormitory, was built in 1952. , 21. TRICKETT HALL - of the Dickinson School of Law, the oldest law school in Pennsylvania, stands at the corner of College and South Streets. , 22. SOUTH STREET - like so many other streets in the central and older parts of town, is lined with brightly colored brick homes. , 23. MOLLY PITCHER - is buried in the Old Graveyard south of South St. extending west nearly to Hanover St. At the Battle of Monmouth, upon the wounding of her husband, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley seized the ramrod and serviced the gun for the remainder of the battle. Her name is derived from her habit of carrying water to the wounded. She lived in Carlisle until her death in 1832, at the age of 79. , 24. OLD GRAVEYARD - contains the graves of General John Armstrong, Chief Justice Bannister Gibson, Dr. Charles Nesbit, first President of Dickinson College, Colonel William Thompson, to whom was issued the first army commission by the Continental Congress, Capt. John Steele, the first Army Chaplain, and Dr. George Stevenson, a Surgeon in the Continental Army. The oldest headstone is dated 1757. , (Note: The Blaine House wayside spells the Reverend’s name as “Steel”.) , 25. LETORT SPRING PARK - is a community recreational development of twelve acres adjacent to the spring at the east end of South Street. , 26-32. IN THE OLDER PART OF CARLISLE - proceeding on East St. one should note: THE OLD TAVERN (26) at the Northeast corner of High and East Sts., the classic doorway of the Alexander House (27), the McManus Building (28) at 131 N. East St., the “Eagle and Harp” Tavern (29) 1799, at 140 E. Louther St., THE OLD LOG HOUSES (30), some clapboard covering at 54, 59, and 63 E. Louther St., LOG HOUSE (31) at 147 Mulberry Alley and THE OLDEST TOWN HOUSE IN CARLISLE (32) at 119 E. High St. , 33. GENERAL JOHN ARMSTRONG - “Hero of Kittanning”, Revolutionary Officer member of the Continental Congress, Judge, lived in the house at the northeast corner of High and Bedford streets until his death in 1795. , 34. GENERAL WILLIAM IRVINE - early Carlisle physician and military figure lived in a house near the southeast corner of High and Bedford Streets, now the location of the First Lutheran Church. , 35. DUNCAN-STYLES HOUSE - at the southeast corner of High and Bradford Streets, was built by Justice Duncan for his son Stephen. Two fine mantles from this building are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. , 36. CUMBERLAND CO. PRISON - at High and Bedford Sts., is a replica of the Norman Castle in Carlisle, England. Built on the site of the original county jail in 1854. , 37. JOHN BANNISTER GIBSON - Chief Justice of Pennsylvania for 24 years, lived on High St., between Hanover and Bedford Streets, in the fine residential block once known as St. James Square. , 38. ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH - organized in 1757, the building dating from 1825, stands on the northeast corner of the square. , 39. COL. EPHRAIM BLAINE HOUSE - 4 N. Hanover Street, built 1794, for a son, retains handsome doorway, cornices and dormers. , 40. MARKET HOUSE SITE - the site of the Old Brick Market until 1952. The square is occupied by the New Cumberland County Courthouse. It has been the site of an old quarry, open air markets and three different covered market buildings. , 41. BLAINE HOUSE - was occupied by Col. Ephraim Blaine, Commissary General of the Revolutionary Army when he entertained Washington, Knox, and Hamilton during their visit at the time of the Whiskey Rebellion. , 42. GREEN TREE INN and FRANKLIN HOUSE - formerly stood at the present location of the Kronenberg Building. Knox and Hamilton stayed here during their visit in 1794. Benjamin Franklin, Richard Peters, and Isaac Norris lodged here for a while treating with Indians in 1753. , SCHOOLS - the first public high school in Pennsylvania, 1836, and one of the first high school libraries in the state were established in Carlisle. , MUSEUMS - of interest to the visitor may be found in HAMILTON LIBRARY, in the HESSIAN GUARD HOUSE at Carlisle Barracks, in BOSLER HALL and BAIRD HALL at Dickinson College.