Round Top, Pennsylvania

Last updated

Round Top
Round-Top [1]
Unincorporated community
1904 Cope map - Gettysburg Electric Railway.png
1904 map depicting Round Top buildings along the Taneytown and Wheatfield roads (right).
Etymology: "Round-Top R. R. Station"
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Round Top
Coordinates: 39°47′41″N77°13′59″W / 39.794792°N 77.23305°W / 39.794792; -77.23305
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
County Adams
Township Cumberland
Establishedc. 1880
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
17325
Area code 717
GNIS ID1185538 (1979) [2]

Round Top is a populated place in Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, near Little Round Top. It is notable for two Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions such as Round Top Park and the Round Top Museum. The unincorporated community lies on an elevated area of the north-south Taneytown Road with three intersections: at Blacksmith Shop Road to the northeast, Wheatfield Road (west from "Roundtop"), and Sachs Road (east from "Sedgwick"). [3]

Contents

History

After an 1808 proposal, [4] the Taneytown Road was constructed southward from Gettysburg past the east of the Round Tops and by 1858, two crossroads had been built to the area, with three homes (north-to-south: "Geo Bishop", "E. Brickert", & "J. Group") that would become Round Top: [5] Wheatfield Rd on the west across the north foot of Little Round Top to the Emmitsburg Road and Sachs Rd eastward across Rock Creek. [5] In 1884, the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad built a steamtrain railroad to the Round Top Station, which operated until c. 1942 when the branch's abandonment application was filed. [6] In 1894 on a different railway from the west, the Gettysburg Electric Railway began trolley operations to the station. [G 1]

Sedgwick Post Office

After an 1884 refreshment stand opened in a "shanty at the base[ which? ] of Little Round Top", [7] the 1884 house [G 2] of postmaster Lewis A. Bushman was announced on July 20, 1886, [8] as the location for the Sedgwick Post Office, [G 3] which opened on August 2. [9] In addition to serving the local area until Rural Free Delivery began, the post office was the transfer point for mail southward on the Taneytown Rd to Horner's Mill near Rock Creek and its subsequent 1890 Barlow post office. Bushman offered the Sedgwick Post Office and Store Room tract for sale with a chopping mill, peach orchard, and warehouse on July 28, 1891; [G 3] and S. V. Bushman had the merchant license in 1892 [10] and sold the tract to James F. Rider in 1901. [G 4] Rider, who near Round Top in 1888 had sold his father's tract of 13 acres (5.3 ha) with "lot of fruit and grapes", [11] operated the Sedgwick store through 1915; [12] and Charles C. Rider offered the tract with 8 room house for sale in 1928. [G 5] The tract was purchased by the Round Top Museum owners in 1965 [G 4] and was transferred along with the museum to the GNMP in 1971.

Round Top School

The one-room 1889 [13] Round Top School was where the 1892 township citizens group formed to oppose the Gettysburg Electric Railway (cf. United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. Co.). [14] The school closed in 1948, [15] was sold in 1952, [G 6] had renovations planned in 1972, [16] and was deemed historically "not significant" in 2004. [13]

Visitor attractions

In addition to the 1884 Round Top Park and 1888 Round Top Museum (Little Round Top Hotel) with the adjacent Rosensteel Park, the community had two additional recreation groves:

Dr. Hudson's grove

"Dr. Hudson's grove" [G 7] was a picnic area with a boxing arena and 1898 social hall that was established by veterinarian Edward Hudson. [17] Hudson's new stable at Round Top had burned down in 1897, [18] and in January 1900, a tavern license was refused for Hudson's hotel. [19] On April 25, 1900, the Hudson property with the 60 ft × 30 ft (18.3 m × 9.1 m) Hotel Sedgwick and stable was next to the school and offered for sale by the Sheriff; [20] and after being unable to sell the property by July 4, 1900; [21] Hudson leased the grove in 1902 from the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway, and later offered his owned tract with "Store Room" for sale in 1905. [22]

Cunningham Grove

Cunningham Grove east of Little Round Top [23] was used for picnics as early as July 26, 1879. [G 8] After the 1904 eminent domain jury for United States v. Five Tracts of land was formed [24] regarding Reynolds Grove and a Round Top tract, [25] the "tract of land belonging to Florence and Georgianna Cunningham" [26] (different from the "Round Top Park property of [the] Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad") [27] was transferred on September 18, 1905. [28] In 1923, the funfair for the Adams County firemen's convention was held in the woods across from the Rosensteel pavilion with a "barker's alley" that included ten-pin stands, blanket and Kewpie doll wheels, knife and cane stands, and "Hit-the-Coon" games (2,000 cars were parked in 3 fields). [G 9]

The community was the eponym for the Round Top hunting [29] and economics clubs, [30] and 20th-century retail businesses at Round Top included the 1904–1960 Epley Blacksmith Shop, [31] the 1916 Round Top Fruit Farm, [32] an early 20th-century automobile dealership (#940 Taneytown Road, site of a 1936 barn fire), [33] the brick McGlaughlin general store (#770), and the 1950–1965 Shorty's Repair Shop on the Wheatfield Rd. [34] A fast food concession built in 1962-3 remains on the southwest corner of the Wheatfield and Taneytown roads (#885), north of which is a 21st-century roadside produce stand (#855).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg National Cemetery</span> Battlefield cemetery created following the Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the largest number of casualties of any Civil War battle but also was considered the war's turning point, leading ultimately to the Union victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Battlefield</span> Site of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War

The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4-acre (1.6 ha) site of the first shot at Knoxlyn Ridge on the west of the borough, to East Cavalry Field on the east. A military engagement prior to the battle was conducted at the Gettysburg Railroad trestle over Rock Creek, which was burned on June 27.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Den</span> Section of combat during the Second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Devil's Den is a boulder-strewn hill on the south end of Houck's Ridge at Gettysburg Battlefield, used by artillery and sharpshooters on the second day of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A tourist attraction since the memorial association era, several boulders are worn from foot traffic and the site includes numerous cannon, memorials, and walkways, including a bridge spanning two boulders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Creek (Monocacy River tributary)</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 134</span> State highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 134 (PA 134), also called Taneytown Road, is a north–south, two-lane state highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania. It runs from the Maryland border at the Mason–Dixon line in Mount Joy Township north to U.S. Route 15 Business in Gettysburg. PA 134 runs through farmland between the Maryland border and an interchange with the US 15 freeway. North of here, the route passes through Round Top and serves Gettysburg National Military Park before reaching its northern terminus. Taneytown Road was created in 1800 to connect Gettysburg with Taneytown, Maryland. The road was used during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg for the procession to the cemetery consecration at which the Gettysburg Address was delivered. PA 134 was designated to its current alignment in 1928, with the section north of Round Top paved. The southern portion of the route was paved in the 1930s.

Harney is an unincorporated community in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. Harney is also the home of the 'World's Best Carnival'. It has been the home of the Harney Volunteer Fire Company since 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Electric Railway</span> Borough trolley serving Gettysburg Battlefield attractions

The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas. Despite the 1896 Supreme Court ruling under the Takings Clause against the railway, battlefield operations continued until 1916. The trolley generating plant was leased by the Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company of Gettysburg to supply streetlights and homes until electricity was imported from Hanover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Top Branch</span>


The Round Top Branch was an extension of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad from the Gettysburg borough across the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, Pennsylvania. The branch ran southward from the terminus of the railroad's main line, west of the school and St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, across the field of Pickett's Charge, south of Cemetery Ridge, east of Weikert Hill and Munshower Knoll, and through Round Top to a point between Little Round Top's east base and Taneytown Road. In addition to battlefield tourists, the line carried stone monoliths and statues for monuments during the battlefield's memorial association and commemorative eras and equipment, supplies and participants for Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War.

United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. Co., 160 U.S. 668 (1896), was a case to prevent trolley operations on the Gettysburg Battlefield. The dispute began in August 1891 when the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association's board approved attorney Samuel Swope's motion to deny trolley right-of-way along GBMA roads. Despite the 1896 US Supreme Court ruling that the railway could be seized for historic preservation, as well as earlier legislative efforts to appropriate federal acquisition funds, create a War Department commission, and form the Gettysburg National Military Park; the trolley continued operations until obsolete in 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barlow, Pennsylvania</span> Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, United States

Barlow is a populated place between the Gettysburg Battlefield and the Mason–Dixon line in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, situated at the intersection of Rock Creek and Pennsylvania Route 134. North of the creek on the road summit is the principal facility of the rural community: the 1939 community hall at the Barlow Volunteer Fire Company fire station. The hall is a Cumberland Township polling place and was used by Mamie and Dwight D. Eisenhower after purchasing their nearby farm. Horner's Mill was the site of an 1861 Union Civil War encampment, and the covered bridge was used by the II Corps and General George G. Meade en route to the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad</span>

The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad was a railway line of Pennsylvania from Hunter's Run southward to Gettysburg in the 19th century. The north junction was with the South Mountain RR, and a crossing with the Hanover Junction, Hanover and Gettysburg Railroad's westward extension was at Gettysburg. The crossing also served as a junction for westbound trains to transfer southward across the Gettysburg Battlefield via the G. & H. R. R.'s Round Top Branch to the company's Little Round Top Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheatfield Road</span>

The Wheatfield Road is a Gettysburg Battlefield crossroad from the Peach Orchard east-southeastward along the north side of The Wheatfield, north of the Valley of Death, and over the north foot of Little Round Top. In addition to modern tourist use, the road is notable for Battle of Gettysburg use and postbellum trolley use associated with the 1892-1896 US v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. case of the US Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipton Station</span> Historic trolley stop in Pennsylvania

Tipton Station was a Gettysburg Battlefield trolley stop of the Gettysburg Electric Railway for passenger access to Crawford's Glen to the north, Devil's Den (west), and Tipton Park (east). The station was established during the 1894 construction of the end of the trolley line and was near the Devil's Den trolley siding, south of the trolley's Warren Avenue crossing, and northeast of the Plum Run trolley bridge. An uphill trail led southwest to Big Round Top with its 1895 Observation Tower, and the "Slaughter Pen Path and Steps" were built to Devil's Den.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association</span>

The Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association (GBMA) was an historic preservation membership organization and is the eponym for the battlefield's memorial association era. The association was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on April 13, 1864, after attorney David McConaughy recommended on August 14, 1863, a preservation association to sell membership stock for battlefield fundraising. McConaughy transferred his land acquired in 1863 to the GBMA, and the association's boardmembers were initially local officials. The GBMA sold stock to raise money, hired a superintendent at $1000/yr, added to McConaughy's land holdings, and operated a wooden observation tower on East Cemetery Hill from 1878–95.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Top Station</span> Train station in Round Top, United States

Round Top Station was the southernmost station of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad and was located west of a blacksmith shop along the Taneytown Road that was in operation in 1880.

Round Top Park was a Gettysburg Battlefield excursion park of 15 acres (6.1 ha) east of Little Round Top near the end of the Round Top Branch and owned by the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railroad. In addition to amusements, the park provided services during the memorial association era for steamtrain and trolley tourists visiting nearby military sites of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Round Top hospitals during the Battle of Gettysburg were located at the Little Round Top side of the Gettysburg Battlefield at 2 houses now in the community of Round Top, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Springs Hotel</span>

The Gettysburg Springs Hotel was a Gettysburg Battlefield tourist site in the area of the first day of combat in the battle of the American Civil War. The hotel was on the east side of Herr Ridge at the western terminus of the Gettysburg Spring Railroad and near the Katalysine Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Woods</span>

Rose Woods is a Gettysburg Battlefield forested area that is an American Civil War site of the battle's Hood's Assault, McLaws' Assault, and McCandless' Advance. "Scene of the first line of Union defenses" on the Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day; the 1st Texas Infantry and 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiments attacked Ward's 2nd Brigade line in the woods. The last combat on the Battle of Gettysburg, Third Day, was "in the early evening. Colonel William McCandless's brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves advanced across the Wheatfield into Rose's Woods where they managed to inflict heavy losses on the 15th Georgia" which had failed to retreat to Warfield Ridge after Longstreet's Assault. Two days later Timothy H. O'Sullivan photographed corpses moved for burial to the edge of Rose Woods and which were subsequently reinterred in cemeteries.

References

  1. ↑ Gitt, Joseph S (February 9, 1884). "Baltimore and Harrisburg Railroad" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler (published February 19, 1884). Adams County Railroads: Concluded. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Round Top
  3. ↑ Map of Adams County (Map). PA Department of Highways. March 1958.
  4. ↑ petition for road (approved), Adams County court, January 1808 (cited by Geiselman p. 87)
  5. 1 2 G. M. Hopkins survey (Map). M.S. & E. Converse. 1858. Archived from the original (SimmonsGames.com mapviewer) on July 21, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
  7. ↑ Krauth, Jno M, et al (GBMA secretaries) (January 5, 1892). "Executive Committee Minutes of the Gettysburg Battlefield Association" (transcription by Kathleen R. Georg). Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. Retrieved July 5, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Sedgwick" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. July 20, 1886. Town and Country. Retrieved July 5, 2011. (1986 Out of the Past)
  9. ↑ "Gettysburg Compiler - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ↑ "The Star and Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  11. ↑ "Gettysburg Compiler - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  12. ↑ "James F. Rider" (Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. August 12, 1916. Obituary. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
  13. 1 2 "Round Top Schoolhouse". List of Classified Structures . National Park Service.{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  14. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  15. ↑ "The Star and Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  16. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
  17. ↑ "We Have Another Park" (Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. July 2, 1902. p. 3. col. 5. Retrieved March 4, 2011. "Dr. E. D. Hudson Succumbs to Heart Attack" (Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. Retrieved January 26, 2011. "Town and Country" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. August 20, 1898. Town and County. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  18. ↑ "New Oxford Item - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  19. ↑ "Court news" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. January 23, 1900. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Sheriff's Sales" (Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. April 10, 1900. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  21. ↑ "The Star and Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  22. ↑ "Assignee's Sale" (Google News Archive). The Star and Sentinel. February 22, 1905. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  23. ↑ Gettysburg National Military Park Commission (July 1, 1920). "Report of the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission". The Gettysburg Commission Reports. Gettysburg, PA: War Department.
  24. ↑ United States v. Five Tracts of land( United States Circuit Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania ; October 2, 1900 ). April 20, 1904: "P. M. Bikle...John A. Himes, Kerr Lott...Wm. A. Martin, James F. Bell...John C. Group...and David Maring...have been appointed a jury of viewers to condemn...ten acres owned by Mrs. Cunningham near Round Top".
  25. ↑ "Round About Town" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. April 20, 1904. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  26. ↑ Gettysburg National Military Park Commission (July 20, 1906). "Report of the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission". The Gettysburg Commission Reports. Gettysburg, PA: War Department.
  27. ↑ Gettysburg National Military Park Commission (October 21, 1896). "Annual Report of the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission to the Secretary of War, 1896". The Gettysburg Commission Reports. Gettysburg, PA: War Department.
  28. ↑ General, United States Army Office of the Judge Advocate (August 5, 1916). "United States Military Reservations, National Cemeteries, and Military Parks: Title, Jurisdiction, Etc". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  29. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  30. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  31. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  32. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  33. ↑ "The Star and Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  34. ↑ "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
G. "Gettysburg Times Archives". Gettysburg Times . Times and News Publishing Company. Retrieved February 20, 2010. References at the Google News Archive:
  1. ↑ "Story of Old Trolley Line Told to Club". April 30, 1952. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Improvements". Out of the Past: 100 Years Ago. May 7, 1985. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Private Sale". July 28, 1891. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Miller, Bernard V (May 19, 1971). "Legal Notices: Action to Quiet Title to Annie E. Riley and S. Vincent Bushman…" . Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Classified Ads. - Real Estate For Sale". January 23, 1928. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Public Sale of Valuable Real Estate". February 8, 1952. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Lively Reunion". Out of the Past: Twenty-Five Years Ago. September 28, 1927. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Local Items". Out of the Past: Seventy-Five Years Ago. June 21, 1954. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Plan Big Fair for Labor Day". August 21, 1923. Retrieved April 26, 2011.    "Crowds Attend Annual Picnic". September 4, 1923. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
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.