Image: Dam on Mountain Creek by Jim Bradley

The Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Logo

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.

Highlighted Stories

Barbara Redmond

Interview of Barbara Redmond for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library an initiative of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Redman discusses how she moved to Mount Holly Springs, PA and the make up of the neighborhood of Mountain Street and Cedar Avenue in Mount Holly.

Shirley I. Heishman

Interview of Shirley Heishman for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library. Heishman discusses her life growing up in Bloserville outside of Newville, Pennsylvania including her experiences working on her parents farm to meeting her husband Don Heishman and their many business ventures from hauling milk, water, and whey to building the Heishman Softball Complex.

Highlighted Entries

Helen H. Stevens (1902-1994)

Photo portrait of Past Presidents of Carlisle Civic Club

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.

Phebe Paine: Educator (1802-1872)

Scan of the Annoucment of the opening of the Carlisle Female Seminary from the December 5, 1844 edition of the American Volunteer

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 Origin and History of Camp Michaux’s Prisoner of War Photographs: A New Discovery

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.