Louther Street

African American Refreshment Houses and Oyster Cellars of Carlisle: Operated by John B. Vashon, John Peck, Lewis Robinson in 1820s

The 1820s saw the rise of Refreshment Houses and Oyster Cellars in Carlisle; many operated by African Americans such as Lewis Robinson, barber John Peck, and John B. Vashon, also a barber. These establishments were seasonal, usually in rented spaces and often in the cellars of taverns. Fare typically consisted of oysters served fried, stewed, pickled or roasted, as well as tripe, pigs’ feet and turtle soup.

Read more about African American Refreshment Houses and Oyster Cellars of Carlisle: Operated by John B. Vashon, John Peck, Lewis Robinson in 1820s

First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Carlisle, PA

The Carlisle Borough Charter claims that the First Lutheran Church began about 1765 when the German immigrants of Reformed and Lutheran church background worshiped together in a union church on South Hanover Street near South Street.¹ In 1807, the church divided and the Lutherans built

Read more about First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Carlisle, PA

David Shriver Forney (1787-1839): Tanner

Advertisement of the sale of Forney’s goods. American Volunteer, January 9, 1840.

Tanner David S. Forney was born on November 4, 1787 to Adam Forney and his wife Rachel Shriver. David’s father Adam, a tanner, was an early settler in the Hanover, Pennsylvania area. When David was young, according to his daughter Mary Roland, he worked “in a leather store in Baltimore.

Read more about David Shriver Forney (1787-1839): Tanner

German Bakers of Carlisle

The 1861 “List of Retailers” in Carlisle included five bakers. At least three of them were German immigrants who had settled in Carlisle in the 1830s and 1840s; John Sellers, John Schmohl and George Grossman.

Read more about German Bakers of Carlisle

Susana McMurray Higgs (1794-1877)

Photo of the stone house at corner of Bedford and Louther Streets, operated as the Sign of the Thirteen Stripes tavern.

Daughter of a Carlisle tavernkeeper, wife of an English iron worker, Aunt to a well-known actress, and benefactress to the poor, Susana McMurray Higgs was born, lived much of her life and died on the same property in Carlisle.

Read more about Susana McMurray Higgs (1794-1877)

Clarence Isaac Lewis (1898 – 1959)

Clarence I. Lewis, a decorating painter, was born in St. Clair, Pennsylvania. He left high school his sophomore year to apprentice as decorating painter. In 1917 he joined the military as an insignia painter where he would later he paint equipment.

Read more about Clarence Isaac Lewis (1898 – 1959)

John Proctor: Whitesmith (1784-1847)

Scan of Proctor’s list of charges for work done for the county buildings in 1812 and 1813 and submitted to the County Commissioners for payment.

“John Proctor was a well-known figure in the industrial world of Carlisle in the early days; he made bits when they were made and filed and plated by hand, silver money being melted to get material for the plating.”Proctor was working in Carlisle as early as 1812 according to a bill he submitted to the County Commissioners for work done at the jail and the court house. The work included making locks, keys, and hinges for window shutters.

Read more about John Proctor: Whitesmith (1784-1847)

Weavers working in Carlisle in 1814

When the Septennial Census of Carlisle was taken in 1814, it included the names and occupations of all the borough’s taxables. Nineteen of them, including two women, were identified as weavers, and at least half of them were born in Ireland.

Read more about Weavers working in Carlisle in 1814