North Middleton Township near Carlisle in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Richard Henry Pratt
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 5, 2018
1. Richard Henry Pratt Marker
10th United States Cavalry
1840-1924
Founder of the Carlisle Indian School and its Superintendent from 1879-1904. The Indian School was created through his vision, tenacity, and sense of purpose. Under his leadership. it grew and flourished into an institution of world renown.
Retired as a Brigadier General, USA, in 1904.
“The way to civilize an Indian is to get him into civilization. The way to keep him civilized is to let him stay."
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Native Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.
Location. 40° 12.53′ N, 77° 10.584′ W. Marker is near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in Cumberland County. It is in North Middleton Township. The marker within Carlisle Barracks, on the Garrison Lane pathway near the Post Office. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Carlisle PA 17013, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Washington Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); To Commemorate the First Home of the "Mobile Arm" (within shouting distance of this marker); Dragoon Circle (within shouting distance of this marker); Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Upton Hall (about 400 feet away); Quarters 2 (about 500 feet away); Thorpe Hall (about 500 feet away); Wheelock Bandstand (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Carlisle.
Also see . . . Richard Henry Pratt
this page online
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 5, 2018
2. Richard Henry Pratt Marker
Photographed By Larry Gertner, April 5, 2018
3. U.S Post Office, Carlisle Barracks, PA, 17013
The marker is out of sight to the right.
John N. Choate (photo courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution), 1880
4. Richard Henry Pratt, Spotted Tail, and three Quaker women at the Carlisle Indian School
This group photograph was taken at the Carlisle Indian School in 1880. It includes the school’s founder and superintendent, Richard H. Pratt, seated on the steps of a wooden bandstand alongside the Lakota chief Spotted Tail and three unidentified Quaker women from Philadelphia. A soldier who first saw action during the Civil War and later in several campaigns against hostile Native American groups in the West, Pratt believed that formal education was vital to the future welfare of tribal communities. In 1879, while still in the U.S. Army, Pratt established a school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he promoted his educational philosophy of forced assimilation into American culture, a policy that owed much to his experiences in the military. As he once explained, he believed it was necessary to "kill the Indian to save the man."
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 433 times since then and 52 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 2, 2018, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 4. submitted on September 3, 2018. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
