The Cumberland County Historical Encyclopedia is an expanding publication on the history of the Cumberland County. Covering a wide range of topics and the entire Cumberland County geographic region, the Encyclopedia seeks to be an initial entry point to those interested in the County's history. Entries seek to provide a list of resources available as well as showcasing some of the Cumberland County Historical Society's own collections.
The recorded history of West Pennsboro Township began in 1735 when it was part of Pennsborough, one of two original townships in the North Valley. This preceded the formation of the county by fifteen years. By 1745, Pennsborough had divided into East and West Pennsboro. In the following years, the township boundaries changed as the population increased and the townships subdivided even more.
Riley John Katshir of Camp Hill, a soccer player at Lebanon Valley College (Class of 2019) represents the 4th generation of family ownership of the West Shore Farmers Market in Lemoyne, which was opened by his maternal great-grandfather in the mid-20th century.
Dennison Wheelock was one of the most famous students to pass through the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. Wheelock was a promising music student at the Carlisle Indian School, and after he graduated, he became a prominent composer.
During the presidency of George Washington one of the early major issues confronting him was raising taxes to pay the debt of the states incurred during the Revolutionary War. Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton in 1790 recommended an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits (the Whiskey Act of 1791).1
In the 1790s, the newly-founded United States was deeply in debt and had no reliable sources of revenue. The 1789 Constitution had given the Federal government the right to levy both direct and indirect (excise, import, etc.) taxes, something the Articles of Confederation made almost impossible.
The Pennsylvanians who led the Whiskey Rebellion were disproportionately affected by the 1791 excise tax on domestic liquor because the majority of western farmers were small-scale distillers, who also had the expensive disadvantage of having to transport their product over the Allegheny mountain
Miss Minerva White and her mother, Matilda Vickers, came to Mt. Holly from Virginia in 1859. Minerva worked for several years in the paper mills in Mt. Holly, but about 1870 she and her mother took charge of the toll gate and ran a small store.1 After her mother’s death in 1885, Minerva continued to operate the Mt. Holly toll gate for another 19 years.
"'Black Jack’ was a famous cook,” wrote Jeremiah Zeamer, editor of the American Volunteer newspaper. “He had a great reputation as a cook and caterer. Whenever in that part of the county there was a wedding, a dance, or a party of any kind for which a feast was to be prepared, ‘Black Jack’ was sent for to superintend the cooking and set the table, and so well did he do this that he was always in high favor with people who had appetites.”
Williams came to Carlisle in 1841 and opened a studio in Beetem's Hotel. The October 27, 1841 edition of the Carlisle Weekly Herald extolled his talent for representing faces on ivory and canvas and urged people to visit his studio. Painting portraits was not Williams' only talent.
Willow Mill, the only mill building still standing in Silver Spring Township, was a substantial industrial complex in its prime. Built in approximately 1794, the mill was still grinding grain through the end of the 1800s. The site then transitioned into an outdoor retreat and amusement park.