The Cumberland County Historical Encyclopedia is an expanding publication on the history of the Cumberland County. Covering a wide range of topics and the entire Cumberland County geographic region, the Encyclopedia seeks to be an initial entry point to those interested in the County's history. Entries seek to provide a list of resources available as well as showcasing some of the Cumberland County Historical Society's own collections.
In 1989, Camp Hill businesswoman, Nikki Knerr, became increasingly concerned with the lack of awareness for the AIDS epidemic. Knerr and her friends decided to create an event to raise funds and awareness for AIDS organizations in Central Pennsylvania.
A headline in an 1882 newspaper read, “A Man and his Wife Pounded.” A reader of today would interpret this as an act of violence, but it was actually an act of benevolence.
Alpheus Dale, born in Centre County, Pennsylvania in 1818,1 spent the majority of his life in Cumberland County except for at least one excursion to the gold fields of California.
The female patriotic organization was founded in 1890. Members are descendants of a Revolutionary War solider or an individual who contributed to the cause such as a civil officer or for providing material aid. The DAR is the largest lineage patriotic organization in the United States.
H. Robert Davis, Jr. was born on August 11, 1920, in Harrisburg to Harry Robert Davis Sr and Amy Hoak Davis. Davis graduated from John Harris High School in 1938 and attended Harrisburg Academy.
William Denning made a significant contribution to the American cause during the Revolutionary War, by creating desperately needed artillery using an unusual welding process.
Nellie Robertson Denny, born in 1871 on the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, came to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (CIIS) in 1880 as a nine-year-old child. After 10 years of schooling, she became a member of the second graduating class in 1890, where she was then hire
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.
On the afternoon of Friday July 31, 1908, residents on East South Street in Carlisle heard a loud noise when a portion of the historic Cloyd house collapsed and practically demolished his neighbor’s summer kitchen.
Doubling Gap is the name given to the geographical formation in which Blue Mountain curves back on itself creating double gaps in the mountain range.