Penn Township was erected 23 October 1860 when the western half of Dickinson Township was made into a separate political and territorial body. Its creation was the result of a continuing effort lasting for at least twenty years. This subdivision was but one in a series of similar moves begun at the settlement of the Province and continued in Cumberland County until 1929.
One mission of Cumberland County History is to make available to a wider audience than might otherwise see them documents pertaining to Cumberland County.
One of the Hamilton Library's oldest 18th century manuscripts provides a unique glimpse into what life was like for Pennsylvania's soldiers serving in America's French and Indian War, the 250th anniversary of which is now being commemorated.
Every American schoolchild was taught of the humiliating defeat of General Braddock's British redcoats by the French and Indians at the battle of the Monongahela; and the able Pennsylvania colonial military historian William A. Hunter on these pages told the tale of the bedraggled withdrawal of the remnants of Braddock's task force down the Cumberland Valley to Philadelphia in August 1755.
This author's interest in the cityscape of Mechanicsburg was aroused several years ago during a bit of genealogical research. A letter written by Mollie Schafhirt in 1893 describes as "Tower Hill" the section of Mechanicsburg to which she had come as a bride. The house, on East Coover Street, still displays a tower. Nearby are five other houses with towers, all sitting on a hill at Coover and Market Streets.
In recent years, researchers seeking to interpret history have increasingly recognized the value of photographic collections. Such images provide us with important information often available nowhere else. Visually accurate, they often have the power to evoke a time long since lost.
The Confederate invasion of Cumberland County in June and July of 1863 has left marks remaining to be seen 135 years later. All who are familiar with Robert G. Crist's pamphlet on the "Confederate Invasion of the West Shore-1863” know of the effort to fortify the higher points of Hummel Hill at Bridgeport (later Lemoyne).
During its existence (1879-1918) and since, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School has been a subject of interest to students and scholars of history, sociology, ethnology, and education.
The sound of the engine swelled and thickened, and soon an open cockpit biplane could be seen. The small boy yelled for his mother to come out and see. A plane descended slightly and made a few passes over a nearby field to check the condition of the surface. The pilot made a speed-killing climbing turn and side-slipped, gliding gently to earth.
In May of 1943, as American and British forces were wrapping up their operations in North Africa and preparing for an invasion of Sicily, United States military personnel in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, were making their own unique contribution to the Allied war effort. Deep in the heart of the Michaux State Forest, an abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps camp was being renovated for an entirely new purpose: to detain and interrogate German prisoners.