Franklin County Courthouse | |
Location | 1 North Main Street, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°56′15″N77°39′40″W / 39.93750°N 77.66111°W |
Built | 1865 |
Architect | S. Hutton Samuel Seibert |
Architectural style | Greek Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 74001784 |
Added to NRHP | January 18, 1974 [1] |
The current Franklin County Courthouse in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, built in 1865, is the third courthouse building on the site. The site was originally purchased from Colonel Benjamin Chambers in 1785.
The current building replaced its predecessor that was burnt on July 30, 1864 by Confederate forces under Brigadier General John A. McCausland in the American Civil War. [2] [3] McCausland was acting under the orders of General Jubal A. Early. Early was commander of the Shenandoah Valley, which was subject to much destruction by the Union forces. He was eager to retaliate against the North. Chambersburg deserved this retaliation, in his view, in part for its sympathy with John Brown while planning his raid on Harpers Ferry. McCausland offered the people of Chambersburg the chance to ransom the town for $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks. When they did not pay, he carried on with the destruction of the town, including the second courthouse. Only the walls and pillars remained after the burning.
The current Greek Revival structure was designed by S. Hutton. [4] The construction was superintended by Samuel Seibert. [1] They designed and built the structure around the remaining walls and columns left from the previous courthouse. It stands two and half stories high, and is built of brick. There are fifty-four windows, twenty-two on each side and five each front and back. It features a domed clock cupola with a statue of Benjamin Franklin on top. [2] There are also six symmetrically placed chimneys on the roof. It was expanded in 1902 in the same architectural style. [2]
The courthouse is a contributing property in the Chambersburg Historic District. [5] Chambersburg is the largest Northern community that was burned in the Civil War. [5]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is included in the Chambersburg Historic District. [1] [2]
Franklin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 155,932. Its county seat is Chambersburg.
Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and 13 miles (21 km) north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and 52 miles (84 km) southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. According to the United States Census Bureau, Chambersburg's 2020 population was 21,903. When combined with the surrounding Greene, Hamilton, and Guilford Townships, the population of Greater Chambersburg is 52,273 people. The Chambersburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes surrounding Franklin County, and in 2010 included 149,618 people.
The Valley campaigns of 1864 began as operations initiated by Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and resulting battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the American Civil War from May to October 1864. Some military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns. This article considers them together, as the campaigns interacted and built upon one another.
The Battle of Moorefield was a cavalry battle in the American Civil War, which took place on August 7, 1864. The fighting occurred along the South Branch of the Potomac River, north of Moorefield, West Virginia, in Hardy County. The National Park Service groups this battle with Early's Washington Raid and operations against the B&O Railroad, and it was the last major battle in the region before General Philip Sheridan took command of Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley. This Union triumph was the third of three major victories for Brigadier General William W. Averell, who performed best when operating on his own.
The town of Romney, Virginia, traded hands between the Union Army and Confederate States Army no fewer than 10 times during the American Civil War, assuming the occupying force spent at least one night in the town. The story of the small town is emblematic of the many military campaigns that swept through western Virginia and, later, the new state of West Virginia.
John McCausland, Jr. was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.
Samuel Sloan was a Philadelphia-based architect and best-selling author of architecture books in the mid-19th century. He specialized in Italianate villas and country houses, churches, and institutional buildings. His most famous building—the octagonal mansion "Longwood" in Natchez, Mississippi—is unfinished; construction was abandoned during the American Civil War.
The Cumberland Valley Railroad was an early railroad in Pennsylvania, United States, originally chartered in 1831 to connect with Pennsylvania's Main Line of Public Works. Freight and passenger service in the Cumberland Valley in south central Pennsylvania from near Harrisburg to Chambersburg began in 1837, with service later extended to Hagerstown, Maryland, and then extending into the Shenandoah Valley to Winchester, Virginia. It employed up to 1,800 workers.
The Westmoreland County Courthouse is a government building of Westmoreland County located in the county seat, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. It is a contributing property to the Downtown Greensburg Historic District, but was listed separately on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1978. The courthouse is also one of the tallest structures in Greensburg, standing 175 feet (53 m) above street level.
The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire is the oldest property insurance company in the United States. It was organized by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 and incorporated in 1768.
The Masonic Temple is a historic Masonic Temple located at Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1823–1824, and is a two-story, brick building with a stucco veneer applied in 1905. An addition was built in 1966.
The John Brown House, also known as the Ritner Boarding House, is an historic American home that is located in Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
Townhouse Row is a set of seven historic, American townhouses located in Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The Memorial Fountain and Statue are an historic fountain and statue that are located in Memorial Square in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The Old Franklin County Jail is a historic jail located at Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1818, and is a two-story, brick building with a slate covered hipped roof topped by a cupola. The original building measures 84 feet wide by 48 feet deep. In 1880, a cell block was added. The jail yard is divided into two sections and surrounded by a 20-foot-high wall. At least seven prisoners were hanged on the premises.
The Angle Farm, also known as Maplebrow, is a historic home located southeast of Mercersburg in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. A three-part, two-story, five-bay log and timber frame dwelling, it is supported by a fieldstone foundation.
Chambersburg Historic District is a national historic district centered on the Memorial Fountain and Square of Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 159 contributing buildings in the central business district and immediately surrounding residential area of Chambersburg. The district has a number of notable examples of Georgian and Italianate style architecture. Notable buildings include the St. Paul United Methodist Church (1896), Professional Arts Building, Cumberland Valley National Bank, Cumberland Valley Railroad Station, First United Brethren Church (1899), firehouse, Presbyterian Church of the Falling Spring (1803), and the Suesserott House. Located in the district and separately listed are the Franklin County Jail, Franklin County Courthouse, John Brown House, Masonic Temple, Townhouse Row, and the Zion Reformed Church.
Upper Strasburg is an unincorporated community that is located in Letterkenny Township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States.
The Simpson County Courthouse, also known as the Old Simpson County Courthouse, is a building in Franklin, Kentucky located on US 31W and Kentucky Route 73. The courthouse was built in 1882 and was used as a courthouse until the completion of the new Franklin Justice Center in 2004. The original courthouse was destroyed by a fire on May 17, 1882, and many documents were lost in the flames. The current courthouse was built between 1882 and 1883. Wings were added to the courthouse in 1962 that attempted to match the style.
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