During ten generations the area now known as Camp Hill has borne five other names: Hendricks, Fort Pleasant, Oysters Point, Bowmanstown, and White Hall. Since 10 November 1885 an incorporated borough, it is part of the West Shore community that in 1731 was offered to Indian tribes as a reservation and in 1750 became the Penn family's Manor of Lowther.
The Western one-third of Cumberland County contains a multitude of historic structures; approximately two thousand of these were surveyed from September 1984 to September 1985 as part of a project sponsored by the Cumberland County Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Bureau for Historic Preservation.
Interview of Tanis Monroy at the Black History Festival in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank. Monroy talks about moving to Carlisle at a young age from New York via Allentown and how he would visit the War College, write poetry, and walk around town. He discussed how he hoped for further integration between Dickinson College and the community and that students would be more open to experiencing Carlisle. He also hopes more residents will engage with the community through community service.
Interview of Gwen Phillips by Stone Hockenberry for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library.
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.
Dr. Silas C. Swallow had already established a widely circulated reputation for being a determined fighter against the evils of strong drink and drugs before he became a resident of Cumberland County. The good Doctor of Divinity had other lesser-known qualities of character which were revealed during the ten years he lived in Camp Hill.
The early history of Pennsylvania is sprinkled with the exploits of daring, energetic, and forceful individuals. One of the most fearless and dedicated, yet least remembered of these personalities, was Christian Frederick Post. A humble man of God, he spent over forty years among the Indians and Whites of colonial America, spreading the Gospel and working for peace. He passed some of this time traveling through or living within the present borders of Cumberland County.
The state Highway Department historical marker erected in the 1920's at the east end of town states that Mechanicsburg, settled in the 1790's and incorporated in 1828, is "named for a settlement of mechanics." Legend states that pioneers traveling along the Trindle and Simpson Ferry roads on their way west stopped here to repair wagons damaged during the crossing of the Susquehanna river which flows east of the settlement.
The first question that a frightened world asked about Three Mile Island on 28 March 1979 was how long the place could be expected to stay on the map. As fear subsided enough to suggest that it might be there for a long time, the question shifted to the more curious, "How did the place get its unusual name?" That question is not simply answered; six years of curiosity and research have yielded more conjectures than proofs.
When considering those things of cultural significance in our heritage, one rarely, if ever, thinks of tombstones. Yet pre-1850 stones and their art offer valuable insight into how our ancestors viewed death and life after death, and also reflect changes in the perception of death and rebirth.