1999 Winter, Volume 16, Issue 2

Building on a Legacy

Being one of the oldest surviving county historical society in Pennsylvania, the Cumberland County Historical Society (CCHS) has cause for celebration during its 125th anniversary year. Founded in 1874 as the Hamilton Library Association, the Society's first century is recalled by Milton E. Flower in the publication "The First One Hundred Years".

John C. Lesher: A Carlisle Photographer of the 1860s

During the mid-nineteenth century photography exploded into popularity in Europe and the United States. Beginning with the introduction of the daguerreotype in 1839, the technique of using a chemical process to fix an image onto a sensitized metal plate captivated the imagination of many: those who wished to preserve the memory of a loved one, those who wished to record historical events, those who wished to create artistic impressions, and those who attempted to make a living satisfying the wishes of all the others.

The Public and Private in Writing History

History is, on the one hand, individual stories and, on the other, stories of groups, nations and cultures. In my recollection of classes I took when I was in college, the starting point was the latter, but in my recent experience of trying to write history, I began with individual stories I found in the Johnson Collection in the Cumberland County Historical Society - a collection of letters and papers of an African-American family in Carlisle.