Federal Building (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)

Last updated

The Federal Building is a historic structure in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was erected in 1913, the 50th anniversary year of the Battle of Gettysburg. [1] The main Adams County Library building since 1992, it previously served as the War Department/National Park Service headquarters of the Gettysburg National Military Park from 1912 to 1962 and as a branch of the United States Post Office. [2]

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Gettysburg is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Battlefield in the Gettysburg National Military Park. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 7,620 people.

Battle of Gettysburg Battle of the American Civil War

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee's invasion of the North.

National Park Service United States federal agency

The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. It was created on August 25, 1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act and is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The NPS is charged with a dual role of preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.

Contents

In 2014, the Adams County Library System celebrated the building's 100th anniversary with three days of community events. [3]

History

During the 1860s, the original branch of the U.S. Post Office in Gettysburg was located at the west of the borough square (later the site of the 1906 First National Bank building). It was captured by the Army of Northern Virginia during the Battle of Gettysburg in early July 1863.

Army of Northern Virginia field army of the Confederate States Army

The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac.

In 1910, borough leaders requested that a new facility for federal offices be built. After construction on the design by GNMP superintendent Emmor Cope had begun, it was briefly suspended. Beginning in 1912, the building served as Gettysburg’s new branch of the U.S. Post Office, and also housed offices for the Internal Revenue Service and Gettysburg National Military Park. [4]

Emmor Cope was an American Civil War officer of the Union Army noted for the "Map of the Battlefield of Gettysburg from the original survey made August to October, 1863", which he researched by horseback as a sergeant after being ordered back to Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Cope is also noted for commemorative era battlefield administration and designs, including the layout of the 1913 Gettysburg reunion. Cope had enlisted as a Private of Company A,, temporarily detached to Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery, and mustered out as a V Corps aide-de-camp of Maj Gen Gouverneur K. Warren.

Internal Revenue Service Revenue service of the United States federal government

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The government agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of federal statutory tax law of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers and pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings. The IRS has also overseen various benefits programs, and enforces portions of the Affordable Care Act.

During his tenure as President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower also maintained an office in the building. [5] He did so, after suffering a heart attack in September 1955, "so that the press would photograph him going to and from work, thus ensuring the American people that their president was well and on the job," according to historian Michael J. Birkner. [6]

President of the United States Head of state and of government of the United States

The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.

Dwight D. Eisenhower 34th president of the United States

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was an American army general and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was a five-star general in the Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful Invasion of Normandy in 1944–45 from the Western Front.

The building's 100th anniversary was commemorated in 2014 with a series of special events over a three-day period, including a gala (February 21), Children's Day (February 22), and open house (February 23). [7]

Architectural features

The front steps and columns along Baltimore Street (formerly the entrance) are similar to the Lincoln Memorial style of Federal architecture.

Related Research Articles

Adams County, Pennsylvania U.S. county in Pennsylvania

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. Its county seat is Gettysburg. The county was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County, and was named for the second President of the United States, John Adams. On July 1–3, 1863, the area around Gettysburg was the site of the pivotal battle of the American Civil War, and as a result is a center for Civil War tourism.

Arendtsville, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Arendtsville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough lies on Pennsylvania Route 234 and it is well known for its annual Apple Harvest Festival in the fall. The population was 952 at the 2010 census.

Bendersville, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Bendersville is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 641 at the 2010 census.

Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Cumberland Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,162 at the 2010 census. In 1863, the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg took place mainly in Cumberland Township, which surrounds the borough of Gettysburg on three sides.

Franklin Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Franklin Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,877 at the 2010 census.

Freedom Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Freedom Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 831 at the 2010 census.

Highland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Created in 1863 from parts of Hamiltonban, Cumberland, and Franklin townships, Highland Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 943 at the 2010 census.

Liberty Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Liberty Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,237 at the 2010 census.

Littlestown, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census.

Mount Joy Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Mount Joy Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,670 at the 2010 census.

New Oxford, Pennsylvania Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

New Oxford is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,783 at the 2010 census.

Tyrone Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Tyrone Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,298 at the 2010 census.

Union Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania Township in Pennsylvania, United States

Union Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,148 at the 2010 census.

Gettysburg College liberal arts colleges in the United States

Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the 225-acre (91 ha) campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. Gettysburg students come from 41 states, Washington, D.C., and 39 countries.

Eisenhower National Historic Site United States historic place

Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the home and farm of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, and its surrounding property of 690.5 acres (279.4 ha). It is located in Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, just outside Gettysburg. Purchased by then-General Eisenhower and his wife Mamie in 1950, the farm served as a weekend retreat for the President and a meeting place for world leaders, and became the Eisenhowers' home after they left the White House in 1961.

Seminary Ridge

Seminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements in July 1863 during the American Civil War (1861–1865), and of military installations during World War II (1941–1945).

Rock Creek (Monocacy River tributary) tributary of the Monocacy River in Pennsylvania, United States

Rock Creek is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) tributary of the Monocacy River in south-central Pennsylvania and serves as the border between Cumberland and Mount Joy townships. Rock Creek was used by the Underground Railroad and flows near several Gettysburg Battlefield sites, including Culp's Hill, the Benner Hill artillery location, and Barlow Knoll.

1913 Gettysburg reunion

The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th anniversary. The June 29–July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans was the largest ever Civil War veteran reunion, and "never before in the world's history [had] so great a number of men so advanced in years been assembled under field conditions". All honorably discharged veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans were invited, and veterans from 46 of the 48 states attended.

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center

The Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center is a Gettysburg National Military Park facility, with a museum about the American Civil War, the 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama, and the tour center for licensed Battlefield Guides and for buses to see the Gettysburg Battlefield and Eisenhower National Historic Site.

References

  1. ↑ Kiner, Deb. "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Gettysburg Federal Building." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: PennLive, February 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Raise Flag Over New Post Office: Stone All in Place, Roof Completed and Flag Pole Erected on New Federal Building." Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: Gettysburg Times, November 30, 1912.
  3. ↑ Kiner, "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Federal Building," PennLive, 2014.
  4. ↑ Kiner, "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Federal Building," PennLive, 2014.
  5. ↑ Kiner, "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Federal Building," PennLive, 2014.
  6. ↑ Birkner, Michael J. Eisenhower's Gettysburg Farm , p. 53. Charleston, South Carolina, Arcadia Publishing, 2017.
  7. ↑ Kiner, "Adams County Library will celebrate 100th anniversary of Federal Building," PennLive, 2014.

Coordinates: 41°08′40″N78°47′57″W / 41.14456°N 78.79926°W / 41.14456; -78.79926

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.