Bloserville
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, newspaper editors encouraged readers to send items about their towns and villages, as well as the comings and goings of their neighbors, to share with the readers of their newspapers.
Carlisle Weekly Herald
Carlisle's Black Rock
In 1818, Jacob Baughman of Carlisle drew a map of Carlisle noting the locations of churches, graveyards, public buildings, still houses, tanneries, and the names by which each of the borough’s street corners were known.1 His map shows “Black Rock” on the north west corner of Main and W
Thomas Carothers, Tavernkeeper (1770-1851)
In 1805, Thomas Carothers purchased the large stone house on the north west corner of Carlisle’s Square and opened the “Sign of Columbus” tavern.1 The house had belonged to merchant John Montgomery, and it was there that President George Washington hosted a dinner for Governor Thomas M
Cereus Bloom Viewing: A Newsworthy Event
An item in the November 23, 1866 issue of the Carlisle Weekly Herald read “Luxury Has Its Great Staples. Phalon’s ‘Night Blooming Cereus’ is one of them. It is as salable as bread-as current as coin. Fashionable society endorses it. The people approve it.
The Entrenchments at Carlisle During the French and Indian War
The purpose of this narrative is to document, based on the available evidence, the approximate location of entrenchments said to have been constructed at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, during the French and Indian War.
Fresh Air Fund Children
On Tuesday, August 19, 1884, a train left New York City with 100 children bound for the Cumberland Valley. They were “Fresh Air Fund” children; a movement started by Pennsylvania clergyman Willard Parsons in 1877.
Hickorytown: An 1880s Snapshot of a Village on Trindle Road
Newspaper editors encouraged residents of towns and villages in the county to send them items of interest for publication. The editor of the Carlisle Weekly Herald included a letter from a resident of Hickorytown in its December 20, 1883 issue.
New Year’s Eve Tradition: “Firing off the Old Year.”
The Carlisle Weekly Herald reported in its January 5, 1859 edition that “On New Year’s Eve, the custom of “firing off the old year” was indulged in to the usual extent that everything that would make noise, from a Chinese firecracker to an old musket, was in requisition, and a continual
Schimmel Wood Carvings-Tidbits
Wilhelm Schimmel (1817-1890) was a German itinerant who lived in Cumberland County during the last quarter of the 19th century. In exchange for food and lodging, often in people’s barns, he made wood carvings for them.
Cumberland Valley Railroad Employee: Alexander Wilt
When Alexander Wilt of Newville died in 1902, he was the longest serving employee of the Cumberland Valley Railroad.