In July 1863 this was the site of the Rupp Tannery

In July 1863 this was the site of the Rupp Tannery. occupied by Confederate sharp shooters during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863.. , Tanneries processed animal hides into leather which was vital for making shoes, saddles and harnesses. This prosperous tannery had a 2 story tan shop, bark sheds, a finishing and drying shop and a bark mill. , By the 1840's the Southern (sic) part of Gettysburg near Cemetery Hill had become an industrial center that included 2 tanneries, a slaughterhouse, a brickyard and the waterworks. This 4th block of Baltimore St. Was informally known a Sleepy Hollow being low lying, sparsely populated and over the hill from the downtown square. , John and Caroline Rupp owned this property, operated the tannery and lived next door in the two story brick Charleston Single House style of architecture of which there were three others on this block. , July 1 to 4 of 1863 all the buildings in this part of town were occupied by Confederate sharpshooters. The front line of occupation was this tannery and the Welty House of the other side of Baltimore Street. , Mr. Rupp stayed in the house's cellar but his father came and took Caroline and their 6 children to the relative safety of his home after the second night of the battle. , Mr. Rupp wrote a letter to his sister 2 weeks after the battle. "The Rebs used my tannery in thair (sic) possession for 4 days. Thay (sic) used the shop for a fort. It was full of Rebs firing on our pickets up at Welty's fence (Locust Ave). I could hear them load thair (sic) guns, and fire. The Rebs broke all the glass and sash in the shop." The Rupp house was heavily damaged during the battle and was torn down in 1868. They built a Gothic Revival mansion that you see behind you in it's (sic) place. The property was sold to the Winebrenner family who were owners of the other tannery on the block at the corner of Lefever and Baltimore St. The Winebrenners built 3 burgundy brick duplexes in the late 1920's That (sic) are here nowhere the tannery stood. The duplexes were all rented out to families over the decades. , This duplex stayed in the Winebrenner family until it was sold to Steve and Barbara Shultz in 1999 for their aviation gallery and picture framing company. They added an inn in 2001. The gallery transitioned to an ice cream shop in 2015.