The town of Newville lodges in the northwest corner of Cumberland County.1 The first settler, Andrew Ralston, arrived in 1728.2 The town was founded by Scots-Irish when the Big Spring Presbyterian Church, which dates to 1737, sold lots from its 89 acres in 1790.
The Big Spring Hotel was situated near the Newville Depot on the Cumberland Valley Rail Road. It was enlarged and improved by its owners, the Ahl brothers, in 1860. By May 1860, a three-story brick addition to the back of the hotel was almost finished.1
Interview of Robert Monath for the Elizabeth V. and George F. Gardner Digital Library Memory Bank a part of the Cumberland County Historical Society in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Monath discusses his family's history and connections working on various Railroads in Central Pennsylvania as well his own time as a fireman and engineer for Penn Central, Amtrak, Conrail, and finally Norfolk Southern.
Shiremanstown is a small community located twelve miles east of Carlisle and five miles west of Harrisburg. It derives its name from Daniel Shireman (1753-1810), one of the early land owners and settlers of the land that made up most of the town.
Southampton Township was formed in 1783. It rests at the south-west corner of Cumberland County and is bordered by Franklin and Adams Counties. The southern part of the township nestles against South Mountain and is currently zoned for Woodlands Conservation in order to preserve the forests.
White Hill is a village designation along the northern edge of Lower Allen Township, centered at the intersection of Hummel Avenue and 18th Street. Villages lack municipal boundaries, but the general area of White Hill would be considered as west of the end of the residential development in the Borough of Lemoyne on Hummel Avenue and extending westerly along the railroad track approximately one mile to the intersection of Carlisle Road and State Road. White Hill has also been used to designate the first stone house to be erected in Camp Hill, then known as Lowther Manor (Whitehill's); a railroad village started in the late 1830s; two railroad stations on two separate rail lines; and the end of the line on the streetcar run.
When Alexander Wilt of Newville died in 1902, he was the longest serving employee of the Cumberland Valley Railroad.