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March 2006, Volume 9, Issue 2
From the President’s Desk
A gaping wound in the heart and
soul of Greencastle is, for the moment, a daily reminder of the events on the
bitter cold morning of Thursday, January 26, 2006. At approximately 5 a.m., the
alarms sounded for a fire at 5 South Washington Street. Eight adults and five
children, residents of the recently renovated apartments, and a number of nearby
neighbors escaped without injury. The electrical fire, which started in the
attic area, was fanned by the high winds of the morning. With flames shooting
20 feet into the air, about 70 firefighters from the Rescue Hose Company and
numerous neighboring fire companies worked on knocking down the fire and
remained on the scene into the morning hours, returning a couple times later
that day to extinguish flare-ups.
Greencastle’s venerable Town Hall building would have celebrated its 135th anniversary this year. Three investors, whose identities are yet to be discovered through further research, founded the Town Hall Company in 1870 and completed construction of the building in 1871 when it was then occupied. In the History of Franklin County 1887, are listed the following officers and directors of the company at that time: Addison Imbrie, president; Jacob Pensinger, secretary and treasurer; and the following directors, along with the afore mentioned – John Wilhelm, Jacob Deardorff, J. C. McLanahan, James S. Crunkleton, and Dr. J. K. Davidson.
Addison Imbrie moved from Mercersburg to Greencastle in 1861. He was a merchant and warehouseman and was a partner in the Schafhirt and Imbrie Company with A. F. Schafhirt. Together they owned 70 acres of land just west of town, near where they also owned and operated the grist mill along what is now Grant Shook Road. In 1875, Imbrie purchased the 75-acre property, on which sits a stately house, at 327 East Baltimore Street, just east of the library.
Jacob Pensinger was a prominent member of the Greencastle community. He was one of the incorporators in 1849 of the Greencastle and Maryland Turnpike (now known as the Williamsport Pike) and served as the treasurer and one of the managers on the Cedar Hill Cemetery board. In 1874 – 1881 and 1887 – 1900, Pensinger was a director of the First National Bank.
I am going to make a supposition that considering Imbrie and Pensinger held the executive board positions that they were likely two of the three investors who built the Town Hall. A deed search at the County Courthouse may produce some answers.
The First National Bank building was constructed by the Crowell and Davison Co., which was then occupied by the bank in 1870. It would be two years later until the money was raised in the community to purchase the clock works and build the tower of the Town Clock. In 1872, Judge D. Watson Rowe built his home on South Allison Street, which he called Rosemont. When the Town Hall was built, the building into which Jacob Hostetter would eventually move his store was only a two-story building at the southwest corner of the square at Baltimore Street. In 1871, the Antrim House was still the 1859 weatherboard structure, which J. Thomas Pawling had built, and would remain so for another 32 years until Harry W. McLaughlin replaced the wooden structure with a three-story brick building called the McLaughlin Hotel.
The late William P. Conrad wrote about the Town Hall in his book Conococheague as well as penning an Echo-Pilot article on September 12, 1985. One of his sources for Town Hall information was an article, written by Lillian C. Ruthrauff, which was published in the September 7, 1939 90th anniversary edition of the Echo Pilot and the centennial edition on September 22, 1949.
The first floor of the Town Hall provided space for storefronts and businesses, the original architectural design of which can be seen in the accompanying photograph. One of the early businesses was W. H. Davison & Co. William H. Davison was born in Antrim Township on November 2, 1836. He was a veteran of the Civil War and was a member of Company B of the 126th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Davison was commissioned to the rank of colonel in 1870 by Pennsylvania Gov. John Geary.
In 1860, William H. Davison, Gen. David Detrich, and the Rev. Dr. Edwin Emerson began a steam saw mill and sash, door, and blind factory. Davison’s partners were bought out over the next two years until1862, when J. B. Crowell became his partner. Crowell and Davison continued the partnership until it was dissolved in 1870. After the dissolution of the partnership with Crowell, Davison became a merchant (likely with a partner because the sign says “& Co.”) with his business located in the front left storefront of the “new” Town Hall building.
With a magnifying glass, one can see that Davison dealt in a variety of goods, which included the very popular Queensware (glassware), brooms, baskets, hats, boots, gaiters, tobacco, cigars, oil cloth, and grain bags (from which horses ate grain), and many other items. In today’s market, a nylon grain bag can be bought for $19.95.
Davison was in ill health at the end of the Civil War and died on September 8, 1875 at the age of 39. This fact, I believe, dates the photograph between 1871 and 1875, because according to family genealogy, there was only one William H. Davison.
In Mr. Conrad’s September 12, 1985 article about the Town Hall, he opened in the following way. “A recent news story appearing in the New York Times, August 18, (1985) tells of Salisbury, Conn. losing its Town Hall in a fire. – The town is still in a state of shock over losing such a cherished part of its heritage.” We, who live in the Greencastle-Antrim community 21 years later, now know Salisbury’s feelings of sadness, grief and loss, not only for the loss of the tangible heritage in the form of the Town Hall building, but for the losses incurred by the families, businesses, and owner.
The Town Hall’s story will be
continued in the May issue of the Annals.
The complete story is also here.
March Open House Exhibit
The Cumberland Valley Chapter #27 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology, Inc. has been conducting an archaeological excavation at the Ebbert Spring Site, 36FR367 for the past three years. Evidence unearthed to date indicates that the spring was continuously visited by Native American groups from the Paleo Indian period c. 10,000 - 8,000 BC up to and including contact with the first European fur traders in the late 1600s. Because of the extensive amount of artifacts uncovered over this long time period, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recently dubbed the Ebbert Spring Site a “Super Site.” This is the first spring to be excavated in the Great Valley physiography of Pennsylvania.
In addition to being a registered Prehistoric site, the property is also registered as a Pennsylvania Historic Site due to its association as the home of William Allison, father of Greencastle’s founder, John Allison. Many historical components have been excavated that relate to the 250-year existence of the Allison–Ebbert families’ farmsteads.
The exhibit will consist of projectile points, stone tools, pottery (both Native American and historical period glazed ceramics), excavated animal bones, antlers and teeth, bone tools, European contact artifacts and miscellaneous agricultural related metal objects. Over 35 different styles of Native American pottery and 45 distinct projectile points have been found to date. Many of the projectile points are made from lithic materials such as Jasper, Chert, Flint and Chalcedony that are not common to this area, which suggest an extensive trade network.
A visit to this quality exhibit will give insight into daily life thousands of years ago in our small section of the Great Valley, which is representative of all of the Great Valley.
See Calendar of Events for dates and times.
April Quarterly Dinner Meeting
The regular Thursday meeting of the month falls on Maunday Thursday of Easter week this year, therefore the quarterly dinner meeting has been moved to Thursday April 6 at 6:30 at Mrs. Gibble’s Restaurant. Because of staff scheduling at the restaurant, reservations and advanced payments will need to be made by Monday, March 27. You may call Bonnie at 717.597.9325 to make reservations and payments may be sent to Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, PA 17225-1157. A special dinner plate selection has been chosen for the dinner guests, which will include one of Mrs. Gibble’s famous pork tenderloins, two pieces of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, complimentary corn fritters, and your choice of drink for $11.50 which includes the tax and gratuity.
The guest speaker for the evening will be Shirley Fenstermacher, who along with Margaret McDonnell, wrote the book Franklin: A Frontier County. Fenstermacher and McDonnell take the reader from the beginning of Pennsylvania’s history with William Penn and his idealistic treaty with the Indians through the early frontier days and into the war for freedom. The many stories include the burning of eleven log cabins in Path Valley by county law officers; the capture of young James McCullough by the Indians; the numerous mills of our area, which were among the earliest of businesses; iron furnaces; Benjamin Chambers, Rev. John Steel, Dr. Hugh Mercer, John Bourns, and President George Washington’s visit to Greencastle and Antrim; and the establishment of Franklin County on September 9, 1784.
April Open House and Barn Raising
The exhibit for April will be a display of brick end barn photographs from around Franklin County, which Phil Schaff of Williamson has been taking during the past 20 years. The photographs are a historical archive of a particular style of architecture, which is all too quickly disappearing because of housing developments in Franklin County. A selection of his photographs was chosen in 2005 to be printed on a poster. The posters will be available for purchase during the exhibit. See the Calendar of Events for dates.
The barn raising will be a big media event. Glenn James, the timber framer, will invite his colleagues to help him in the raising, which will include the use of a crane. The museum will be open with the brick end barn photographs still on exhibit along with antique tools used in construction of barns. Museum board members and volunteers will man a food stand. A fundraiser is being planned, during which time visitors may become part of this community project by buying in “essence” a brick, shingle, limestone, or timber. More information on the event will be forthcoming as we find out what Mother Nature has in store for this area during early spring. Stay tuned and watch the newspapers.
What’s Been Happening
- January’s exhibit honoring the 50th anniversary of Elvis’ career and February’s exhibit of Custer memorabilia equaled the daily attendance figures for Old Home Week open houses. There were a total of 190 visitors through the museum for Elvis and 220 to see the Custer exhibit.
Franklin County Family Quilts
The Chambersburg Quilt Guild has been documenting the family quilts of Franklin County by analyzing the quilts, taking photographs, and recording their stories from questions asked of the owners. What kinds of quilts will be included in this project? Only pieces made before 1950, which includes traditional quilts, baby and crib quilts, crazy quilts, knotted coverlets, summer spreads (quilt tops with their edges turned under and hemmed), and quilt blocks that were made but never put together. All the information that is collected, including photographs, will be put together in a book. One of the clinics is scheduled in Greencastle on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at the Church of the Brethren at 36 South Carlisle Street, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
The fancy glass windows are
still there, but where?
The answer to January’s question is – it was a photograph of a section of the outside log walls of one of Greencastle’s earliest structures, Robert McCullough’s tavern, which was located on the southeast corner of the square at South Carlisle Street. Between the first and second building is a narrow passageway. One may peak through the hole in the gate to view what the whole exterior of the present building once looked like.
Do you know…
…the names of the two men from Franklin County who were appointed ministers to foreign countries?
The answer to January’s “Do you know…” is Barncord’s corner was located in the northeast corner of the square, where in 1885, the store-rooms of D. B. Keefer and Adam S. Elliott stood, and where, today, the E.L.M. Department Store is located. Barncord was one of the earliest businesses in town.
Recent Acquisitions
- 1876 Hagerstown Almanack with an advertisement for J. B. Crowell’s Willoughby grain drill. A gift from Jean Woods, Mercersburg.
- An early Victorian rosewood veneered Empire style sofa, which belonged to Dr. Peter Henry Heiskell, Kildare Plantation, Prince George’s County, Maryland. Family legend says John Wilkes Booth stopped at Dr. Heiskell’s for treatment of his broken leg, which Heiskell refused to treat. Booth then continued on to Dr. Mudd’s. This Empire sofa is of the same time period as the chest of drawers made by Augustus Shirey of Greencastle, which is in the small bedroom of the museum. A gift from William and Mary Graham Doub, Keedysville, Maryland.
Calendar of Events
·Sunday, March 12,
1 – 4 p.m., Open House:
Ebbert Spring Native American
Artifacts
·Thursday, March 16 , noon – 3 p.m.,
Open House: Ebbert Spring Native American
Artifacts
·Saturday, April 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Family
Quilt Clinic
at Church of the Brethren at 36 South Carlisle
Street, Greencastle
·Thursday, April 6, noon – 3 p.m.,
Open House: Exhibit of Brick End Barns of
Franklin County
·Thursday, April 6, 6:30 p.m., Quarterly
Membership Dinner Meeting:
Mrs. Gibble’s Restaurant, Reservations and
payments are required
no later than Monday, March
27, by calling Bonnie at 717.597.9325.
·Sunday, April 9,
1 – 4 p.m., Open House: Brick End Barns of
Franklin County
·April or May, Barn Raising to be announced in
the media!