The 2014 edition of Cumberland County History includes articles on a wide variety of topics stretching from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. The articles focus on individuals, caves, tugboats, schools, and flags — quite an unusual collection.
The lead article by Carla Christiansen presents an in-depth look at an early Pennsylvania settler, Samuel Postlethwaite. Any serious researcher of early Cumberland history will have encountered his name on a variety of original documents. He served in numerous positions in the early government of the county. Carla used extensive original sources, many housed at CCHS, to compile this detailed history of this important early settler.
Merri Lou Schaumann explores the life of James Hamilton through the travels of one of his letters until it reaches its final resting place at the University of Virginia. The article reads a little like a mystery.
In recognition of the 200th anniversary of the composing of the poem, “The Star Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, the staff has selected three items related to the theme, flags. Although in no way related to the iconic flag from Fort McHenry, the information about flags in our collections will hopefully be of interest and illustrate the uniqueness of our collections