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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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      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.

      Betty GardnerInterview of Betty Gardner for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Gardner discusses coming to Carlisle and her work with the Second Presbyterian Church in Carlisle.

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      Venus, slave of Thomas Craighead, was Sister of the first published American Negro poet, Phillis Wheatley 
      
Thomas Craighead’s slave Venus: Sister of the first published American Negro poet Phillis Wheatley. T.C. was Thomas Craighead (1789-1865) the son of John Craighead and his wife Jane Lamb.  The “old Thomas Craighead” he refers to in his letter was his grandfather who died in 1807. In 1845, T.C. also contributed a history of incidents relating to his family that was published in I.D. Rupp’s History of Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry Counties…. p. 440-444.

      Emma Louise Thompson McGowanEmma Louise Thompson McGowan was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1876. When she was thirteen years old, McGowan moved with her family from Winchester, Virginia to Carlisle, Pennsylvania escaping the devastation of the South and seeking a new life in the North.

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      Letters: John and William Holmes of Carlisle to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell,1775, 1776
      
The 60-foot by 33-foot, two-story stone building on High Street, just east of St. John’s Episcopal Church, is where several generations of merchants operated their businesses.
Read more about Letters: John and William Holmes of Carlisle to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell,1775, 1776

      Letters: From Merchant Ephraim Steele to Philadelphia Merchant John Mitchell, 1775, 1776Ephraim Steele was one of several Carlisle merchants who did business with Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell. The method of doing business and the kind of goods ordered are revealed in these three letters written in 1775 and 1776.
Read more about Letters: From Merchant Ephraim Steele to Philadelphia Merchant John Mitchell, 1775, 1776

      Letter: From the Committee of Correspondence to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell, 1775We have been favoured with your letter of the 14th of this month; and look upon ourselves and this county to be much obliged to you for the trouble you have been kind enough to take in purchasing ammunition for us.
Read more about Letter: From the Committee of Correspondence to Philadelphia merchant John Mitchell, 1775

    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...