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Greason, West Pennsboro Township: The Village Next to the Railroad 1860-1880

The village of Greason is unknown to most people traveling on Cumberland County's major roads. It sits between Newville Road in the north and Ritner Highway (Rt. 11) in the south. It is less than one mile south of Plainfield and grew up along the old Cumberland Valley Railroad line. Approaching the village today, the first thing you notice is the abandoned warehouse. Vines cover the gable end of the warehouse and cling to its board walls that show little of the paint that once covered them. The railroad tracks are gone, and their route is now part of the Rail Trail walking path. The Station Depot is gone, the Greason Academy building, with its many additions, is a private home, but many of the dozen or so houses remain and evoke an image of what the village was like in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Patrick Murphy Part II

Interview of Patrick Murphy for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Murphy discusses some of his experiences in the European Theatre of World War II and his life following his discharge from the Army in including working at C. H. Maslands and Mount Holly Milk.

Woolworth’s Dime Store

Lunch counter at Woolworth’s, taken at the reopening in 1959

The photo of the lunch counter at Woolworth’s, taken at the reopening in 1959, brings back fond memories. When you were growing up and shopping with your mother at Woolworth’s, a milk shake or maybe a dish of ice cream at the lunch counter was the hoped for reward for having to endure waiting with her as she looked through the notions and the housewares departments. At the lunch counter you could swivel back and forth on the stool, stare at the dispenser that kept the orangeade cold and watch the lady cooking hamburgers on the grill.

Merri Lou Schaumann

Interview of Merri Lou Schaumann for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Schaumann discusses growing up in Euclid, OH before coming to Carlisle, PA. During her time in Carlisle she became a prolific researcher of local history leading to the publication of numerous books and volunteering with the Cumberland County Historical Society.

A Year in the Life of a Village: Plainfield 1910

Birds Eye View of Plainfield in Wings 1879 History

In 1812, tavernkeeper Michael Forner laid out lots on a piece of land on the road from Carlisle to Newville. He called the new town Plainfield. Plans were afoot for a Grand Turnpike from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, and Forney thought it "would more than probably go through his new town."It did not. Often referred to as Smokey Town, the name Plainfield was officially adopted with the opening of the Post Office. The map of Plainfield in the 1872 Atlas of Cumberland County shows the locations of the shops, two churches, the school, the hotel as well as the houses. Plainfield grew, and by 1910, the village had approximately 200 residents.

A Year in the Life of a Village: Oakville 1910

Main Street in Oakville, PA, looking south.

It was a good day for Shippensburg photographer Clyde Laughlin to take photographs of Oakville because there were no leaves on the trees. Mr. Laughlin produces post cards from the photos he takes of the towns and villages of Cumberland County. His camera captures a horse and buggy traveling towards him on Main Street, and the two young boys who are peering over a fence watching what he is doing. The white-washed Rail Road Crossing sign post warns people to Stop, Look, Listen.

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