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.
Interview of Nhan Ai Simms by Amanda Gautier and Megan Osborn on November 1, 2015 for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. The interview focuses on the Simms family and experiences in Carlisle and Cumberland County after Vietnam.
Michelle Ward and Danielle Ward-Smith interview by the Orton Family Foundation on the Mount Tabor AME Zion Church and cemetery. Both Ward and Ward-Smith discuss connecting with their past as well as community.
Born in Chicago on September 18, 1902, Helen Stevens was a long-time and very active member of the Carlisle community, whose life work was associated with finding assistance for individuals needing mental health services.
Margaret MacDonald was born on June 22, 1760, one of Duncan and Sarah MacDonald’s four children.1 Her father, described as “the old Scotch highland piper,”2 likely served in one of the British regiments sent to Carlisle during the French and Indian War.
The photographs in the collection at the Cumberland County Historical Society (CCHS) that document the history of the Pine Grove Furnace Prisoner of War Camp at Camp Michaux during the Second World War come from several sources. The primary source is from a collection originally owned by Major Laurence Thomas, the camp’s commander that were taken by the Army Signal Corp. This collection contains pictures of German and Japanese POWs, usually working around the camp or in candid poses and photos of the camp during various seasons of the year.
Warren Mullen was a World War II veteran and artist with a keen sense of humor. He was a prolific letter writer; and his letters were filled with drawings of his experiences, whether serious, humorous, or outrageous.
Interview of Dean Vaughn for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Vaughn discusses growing up in Boiling Springs in the post-WWII era before volunteering for the United States Army. He then discusses how he developed his memory techniques while working for RCA in Thule, Greenland and what led him to establish his own company.
Largent discusses his experiences growing up and his time working for a railroad company. Watch Story...
“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...
Reproduced 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...