Home | Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Library

Image: Dam on Mountain Creek by Jim Bradley
An initiative of the Cumberland County Historical Society the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library seeks to fulfill the Society's mission of collecting, engaging, and sharing the stories of Cumberland County.

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      Highlighted Stories    
    
      Catharine MacCaffray (Women in World War II)
      
This is an oral history conducted by Steven Burg with Catharine MacCaffray at her home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on June 20, 2002 as part of the Cumberland County Women During World War Two Oral History Project. MacCaffray discusses her experience as a volunteer nurse's aid for the American Red Cross in various hostitals in Carlisle. MacCaffray further talks about other various experiences including working at C. H. Masland's, seeing German POWs, and rationing.

      Helen Kollas
      
Interview of Helen Kollas by Michael Collins on March 18, 2015. The interview focuses on the Hamilton Restaurant in Carlisle, Pennsylavania, Kollas' early life growing up, and the Greek Community in Carlisle.

      Highlighted Entries    
    
      Phebe Paine: Educator (1802-1872)
      
In recollections of her life in Carlisle, Mary C. Dillon, author of the novel “In Old Bellaire,” wrote about the faculty circle of Dickinson College. She said that it included “the brilliant spinsters, Miss Sarah and Miss Phoebe Paine, who had a finishing school for young ladies on West Street

      The Tavernkeeper’s Wife: Elizabeth PopeBeing the wife of a tavernkeeper meant that Elizabeth helped with the running of the tavern as well as taking care of her family. Washing, cleaning, cooking in a hot kitchen over a fire for hours as well as helping in the barroom was hard work.

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      Miss Esther Lamberton (1799-1880)Esther Lamberton and her twin brother Christopher James were born six years after their father James Lamberton killed John Duncan of Carlisle in a duel in June 1793.1 Esther wrote her will on September 23, 1878.
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      “Washingtoniana” on display in Carlisle in 1944
      
George Washington’s birthday on February 22 was commemorated in different ways in Carlisle in 1944.
Read more about “Washingtoniana” on display in Carlisle in 1944

      Antiques Going, Going, Gone: Local Sales in the 1940s and 1950s
      
Collectors and dealers of antiques have often talked about the old days when there were so many good pieces of furniture and “smalls” for sale at auctions. The following are examples of some of those sales.
Read more about Antiques Going, Going, Gone: Local Sales in the 1940s and 1950s

    Railroads
  
Jim E. Largent Sr.Largent discusses his experiences growing up and his time working for a railroad company. Watch Story...
Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg Railroad“The Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg Railroad was built with the backing of the Cumberland Valley Railroad primarily to haul iron ore from the vast reserves around Dillsburg to furnaces in the Harrisburg region. Read Article...
Hey Ollie, Let's Go RailroadingReproduced below are a number of the photographs which were displayed at the Cumberland County Historical Society as an exhibit "Hey Ollie, Let's Go Railroading." Over 250 photographs were put on display as a tribute to all the railroaders, both here and gone, who worked in the Cumberland Valley. Read Story...