USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > Carlisle > Early history and growth of Carlisle > Part 4
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devoted to school purposes, but in a well-ordered, cultured home. Nor is this feeling dissipated if our stay is prolonged. In the spacious parlor, with its rare mahogany furnishings, at table, or in the recitation room, where we see pupil and teacher in close touch with each other, always we feel that
Metzger College and Quaint Old Home of Its Founder
here is indeed a "home school," where social as well as intellectual culture may be attained, and where not only lessons from books are taught, but also those higher lessons to be learned only by close contact with noble lives.
More than twenty-five years ago, Carlisle was electrified by the coming of an army officer who
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had not before been at the military post. He was attended by a retinue, but not of United States soldiers. He came to work out a great purpose- that of "civilizing the Indian wards of our govern- ment by bringing them into civilization." He
Drawing Room at Metzger College
came as Captain Pratt, and established under gov- ernment care the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, with one hundred and thirty-six pupils. He left after a quarter of a century as General Pratt, and his world-famed school contained one thousand students. During that period there was nothing connected with Carlisle that brought the town into
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Home of Commanding Officer
Indian School Campus
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so great prominence as the interesting and magnif- icent work of the Indian School. People from other states and other lands came to visit the won- derful institution that had been evolved under the personal supervision of its founder. Around the old barracks, which were turned over by the gov- ernment for his use, grew up a small village of buildings devoted to the many purposes requisite to the development of physical and moral manhood and womanhood. Not only the "three r's" but many higher branches are taught here, together with arts and crafts that enable these dependents of Uncle Sam to become self-supporting, self-respect- ing men and women. Through one of the distinc- tive features of the school, the Outing System, several hundred of them every year are inducted into the ways of farm, shop and home in various parts of the United States. Even a hasty survey of the boys' quarters and girls' quarters shows rooms clean, orderly, and suggestive of deftness and taste in the occupants. The Indians as athletes are known from Boston to the Golden Gate, no foot- ball games being watched with greater interest than those in which they have a part. Under the present administration new features have been added, and
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the Indian School continues to be a source of local pride and the leading institution of its kind in the country.
At one of the entrance gates stands the old Guard House, one of the historic buildings of Pennsylvania. It is said to have been built by Hes- sian soldiers captured by General Washington at
Hessian Guard House
the battle of Trenton, and sent to this place as prisoners of war. The building is also associated with one of the residents of Carlisle who enjoys, if shades still enjoy earthly honors, a national repu- tation-Molly Pitcher. After the war was over in which Molly won her name and her fame, she is said to have spent many a day within these thick
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and gloomy walls, washing and cooking for the soldiers.
One does not take frequent walks about town without seeing the face of a citizen long an essen- tial part of the town's life and of its strivings after things unseen and eternal. This is Dr. George Norcross, pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church. On the heads of one generation his hands have been laid in baptismal blessing. These have grown to manhood and womanhood. They have plighted their troths before him, and have brought their children to be baptized by him. The occa- sion of Dr. Norcross' thirtieth anniversary, in his present pastorate, in 1899, was a memorable one, when not only his own people, but representatives of many of the other Protestant churches of town, united in expressions of appreciation and good will.
"Honor and reverence and the good repute That follows faithful service as its fruit, Be unto him, whom living we salute."
The first edifice built by the congregation now presided over by this good man, was erected in 1833. It is still dear to the memory of many, who carry a mental picture of its fine exterior, with the Ionic portico raised somewhat above the level of
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St. Patrick's Rectory and Church, and St. Katherine's Hall Old Brick Church of 1806 in Oval
the street, as if in consciousness of its classic design. After almost two score years, this building was found inadequate to the demands of the church, and was accordingly replaced by the present Gothic structure.
A few blocks away is St. Patrick's Church. The parish was organized in 1779, and is chronologi- cally the sixth Catholic parish established in
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Pennsylvania. There was then no other Catholic Church between Carlisle and St. Louis. A log chapel was its first place of worship, and in 1806 the old brick church was built by the Rev. Louis de Barth, a German nobleman. The present hand- some structure was completed in 1893 by the Rev. H. G. Ganss, at a cost of $30,000, and is by general consent admitted to be the most artistic of the smaller Catholic churches of the state. For this building, the congregation, consisting of thirty-six families, raised $30,000 in twenty-eight months, freeing the church from debt. It was consecrated on the 114th anniversary of the foundation of the parish. St. Katherine's Hall was built by Mother Katherine Drexel, and is occupied by six sisters of the order she founded for work among the Indians and negroes.
In approaching Carlisle from almost any point, one tall, massive tower attracts and holds attention. This is the tower of the First Lutheran Church, erected on the site of the old foundry. The stone- cut words, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," seem fitly written above the triple entrance. The build- ing is of metropolitan proportions, and is fortunate enough to have its lines set off by well-kept turf.
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First Evangelical Lutheran Church. Old Foundry Formerly on Same Site, in oval
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Every pillar of the fine interior, every window and furnishing, as well as each accessory demanded by a working church, speaks of the unflagging devo- tion of a people not "at ease in Zion."
"We bargain for the graves we lie in," is not of necessity true of any child of Car- lisle, the Old Graveyard, as old as the borough it- self, saving even the poorest from the potter's field. In this quiet spot, overshadowed by Gen. John Armstrong trees that seem in strange keeping with the place, not only "the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep," but also men of wealth and culture and fame. An elaborate Latin inscription sets forth the virtues of the renowned and cultured Dr. Nisbet. Under a near-by stone
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rests the Christian soldier, Gen. John Armstrong. Emigrating to this country from Ireland with his wife, he chose the infant town of Carlisle as his home, and continued to live here until his death, nearly a half century later. A colonel in the French and Indian war, in which he won lasting fame at Kittanning; a general in the Revolutionary war ; a councilor in times of peace, whose practical wis- dom was sought by the authorities of state and nation; the trusted friend of General Washington ; and a man "living habitually in the fear of the Lord, though fearing not the face of man," General Arm-
JAMES - ARMSTRONG
REBECCA LYON.
D
/ ....... ...................... ...
Kg . F.6. 20.1776
RT Con
Grave of General Armstrong
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strong is a son whom Carlisle delights to honor. If we tarry in this secluded spot, we find that here Old Carlisle and New Carlisle are met together. Some of the stones bear dates that carry us back a full century and a half, while close by may be seen the heaving turf of a new-made mound. Here and there we are interested to read the inscriptions,
"Homely phrases, but each letter Full of hope and yet of heartbreak, Full of all the tender pathos Of the Here and the Hereafter."
The varying interest that Carlisle awakens in us does not lessen as we reach the edges of the town. If "the beautiful is the touchstone of human prog-
Park of the Manufacturing Company
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ress," two of these places closely as- sociated with Car- lisle's business interests call for attention. At the western extremity are the buildings of the Lindner Shoe Company, vine-clad and at- tractive. The sur- rounding space, notably Lindner Park, has within Lindner Shoe Factory a few years liter- ally been made to blossom and be glad. The grounds of the Carlisle Manufacturing Company, under the direction of the public-spirited presi- dent, John Hays, Esq., are at the opposite end of the town. With their beauty of flower and turf, they delight the eye of Carlisle's sons, and give to many a stranger who glances at them from the car window a hint that he is approaching a town in whose heart dwells civic pride.
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On the northern extremity is a building to which gown and town have recourse when "nature's sweet bells are jangled, out of tune." Todd Hospital, established by Mrs. Sarah Todd, was opened for use in 1896, and is looked upon as one of the indispensable institutions of Carlisle.
Trolley connections afford Carlisle every oppor- tunity for reaching many of its beautiful environs, Boiling Springs and Mount Holly Springs being favorite resorts for hours of ease. At the former we find one of the natural curiosities of Cumber-
...
Boiling Springs
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Scene at Mount Holly Springs
land County. In not one place only but in many places the water boils and bubbles as if in a witches' cauldron. Yet a draught is delightfully cooling. Around the springs has grown up a pleasure park, visited during the summer months by crowds from city and country - side. Not far away is the Old Forge, whose history stretches
Old Forge at Boiling Springs. Built in 1762
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back to colonial days. Here the blister-steel of that time was manufactured, and bullets and cannon were cast that took the life of many a redcoat.
Under the shadow of South mountain lies beau- tiful Holly, which we may also reach by a ride past wood and hill and valley, where "ill thoughts die and good are born." The natural charms of the place have been enhanced by landscape art until it is one of earth's choicest spots. Hawthorne might have written of Holly: "Lakes opened their blue eyes in its face, reflecting heaven, lest mortals should forget that better land, when they beheld the earth so beautiful."
Old Elm on the York Road Lovely indeed is the fringe upon the garment of Carlisle! To the places mentioned must be added the Conodo- guinet, too lovely to be told of in dull prose. Let us see it through the poet eyes of a son of Carlisle :
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ON THE CONODOGUINET
By BENNETT BELLMAN
When the birds are in the bushes and the sun is in the sky,
Where the golden song of thrush is, when the fleecy clouds are high,
In the balmy air of Springtime, when the blossoms bloom in May, I take my boat and row and float, far from the world away.
Between blue distant mountains are fair Cumberland's green hills,
With sunshine on her fields afar and ripples on her rills,
With the blossoms on her branches all ablooming in the May, In a world that hath no sorrow, in the sunshine of to-day.
Here old Conodoguinet widens with reflections of its trees That show within its crystal depth unruffled by the breeze, In its bosom holding fondly there a glimpse of azure sky Which doth bend, a dome above me, but below me, too, doth lie.
With Nature healthful, pure and sweet, now in her smiling mood,
I fain would lay me at her feet, into her courts intrude, Learn the deep wisdom here that dwells amid her silent hills In song of bird in leafy dells, in ripple of her rills.
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354306B
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On yonder looming limestone bluff o'er which the sky doth shine.
I see the oak and elm trees, I see the darker pine,
Whose sweet balsamic odor is now wafted on the breeze
Sweeter than perfumed air that blows among Arabian trees.
Within a sylvan scene like this, what soul could e'er repine ? To drink the sunlight here is bliss, like old Olympian wine, For in the sun and wood and stream, I feel the throbbing heart Of the great Mother who doth hold us all of her a part.
Her "still small voice" one moment fills the vasty vague immense,
One moment with her pulse I thrill through every wakened sense.
She kindly looks upon me, so !- my heart hath once beguiled, And though she turn and leave mne, lo! I know she once hath smiled.
So, floating on the stream to-day, I have this lesson learned- Like to a wandering prodigal to her I have returned,
And fain would let men fight for fame, or learning of the books,
If I may stay with Nature here, beside her running brooks.
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Ancestral Sofa in the Home of Mr. J. W. Henderson
IV
W HILE the early settlers were naturally content with the utmost simplicity of life and dress, later times, bringing here to an unusual degree an element of wealth and cul- ture, demanded an observance of such social re- quirements, habits of living, and style of dress as were de rigueur in English life of the best type.
Passing from the days when coarse materials of domestic manufacture sufficed for the garments of both men and women, one reaches those prosper- ous times when the style of dress of people of fashion was here, as elsewhere, a distinguishing indication of the line drawn between classes. One enjoys to picture the little town when "men wore
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three-quarter or cocked hats and wigs; coats with large cuffs and big skirts lined and stiffened with buckram ; breeches closely fitted, thickly lined and reaching to the knee, made of broadcloth for win- ter, or silk for summer ; silk hose and silver shoe- buckles." When the women wore the fullest of skirts expanded by enormous hoops, high-heeled shoes, white silk stockings, elaborate coiffures sur- mounted by large and elegantly trimmed bonnets, soft laces and great jeweled ear-rings.
People sigh for the days that are gone, regret- ting that modern conditions have dimmed the glamour of the aristo- cratic life of earlier times which gave so marked an individuality to the place. The gay whirl of society was comprised of the town and garrison, as the intellectual atmos- phere of the college did not blend with the dash- ing life of a cavalry bar- racks community. The officers were usually West Pointers, who
A James Wilson Chair Heirloom in the Family of Colonel William M. Henderson
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sought the homes of the social leaders in the little town, and who of themselves materially contri- buted to the pomp and ceremony of a society so exclusive as to become pro- verbial, and which was per- haps as brilliant as could be found anywhere in the country. Carlisle style and hospitality were recognized and enjoyed by many from far beyond its limits.
Those who were fortu- nate enough to be invited to the right houses had the pleasure of partaking of such collations as were not surpassed nor more grace- fully served anywhere, while General Henry Miller China the wit and beauty of the handsomely gowned women and the talents of the highly educated men, formed a fitting accompaniment for occa- sions that are traditional in our annals.
We have no pictures that can reconstruct these scenes, but be it understood that the refined and accomplished women who presided over the
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"Oakland," Homestead of the Late Colonel William M. Henderson
homes were versatile enough to meet all the demands that the exigencies of the day made upon them. They were famous housekeepers, and as the negro employees were not numerous, the domestics came chiefly from the genteel white population.
There were no caterers, no pastry-shops, and all edibles had to be prepared at home ; but, never- theless, the most elaborate menus were successfully evolved from Carlisle kitchens, while the exquisite
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home-made garnishings of fruits and vegetables that were prepared for the boned turkey, hams and game, were the admiration and despair of less-accomplished housekeepers.
The gowns of the women, often imported, were as elegant as those worn in the draw- ing rooms of Phil- adelphia. Illu- mination was fur- nished by lard lamps supple - mented with can- dles. In addition to the use of can- delabra, painted boards were often fitted to the tops of doors and win- dows, containing Lamps in the Home of A. D. B. Smead, Esq. rows of holes for candles, which, when filled, gave a very beautiful effect to the spacious rooms and hallways, the soft light shedding its own luster on the satins and brocades of the women and the gold- embroidered uniforms worn by some of the men.
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During the investiture of the town by General Ewell, he issued a request to the women of Carlisle that in attending church or appearing in the street, they should go forth plainly garbed, in order that his soldiers might not become enraged at the sight of so much luxury, while destitution was oppressing the women of their own south- ern land.
The charming colonial doorways of some of the handsome homes led to interiors lux- uriously furnished and often contain- ing wood-work as exquisite as could be found any - where in the state of Pennsylvania.
A delightful type of the home
Doorway of Mr. David Watts' Home Built by Colonel Ephraim Blaine
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of its period was that built by Colonel Ephraim Blaine, between 1792 and '97, for his son, Robert Blaine, to whom he conveyed the property. Being afterward pur- chased by David Watts, Esq., a prominent lawyer, it was owned and occupied by his family until his son, Judge Fred- erick Watts, sold it, in 1871, to Judge Robert M. Henderson, that courtly gentle- man of the "old school," whose name Carlisle holds in tender memory. The ex- quisite mantel in the apartment that for many years Colonial Mantel in Judge Henderson's Back Office was his back office
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is indicative of the architectural charm of the entire house. It is an interesting fact that the paper that was put upon the walls more than one hundred years ago has never been removed from behind the bookcases. It was imported from France by Mr. Watts, a similar paper having been brought over at the same time for the home of the French minister at Washing- ton. It was made in pieces eighteen inches square and printed from stone blocks, being a style of wall decoration that was necessarily confined to luxurious homes.
Mrs. David Watts
Mrs. Watts, whose interesting picture is here reproduced, was the wife of David Watts, Esq., and daughter of General Henry Miller. She continued to reside in the home after her husband's death, passing altogether seventy years of her life under its roof.
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It is a matter of great regret that there is no portrait extant of Colonel Ephraim Blaine, distin- guished son of Carlisle, an eminent citizen and a devoted patriot. A child of wealth, born in 1741, he was in the full flower of his manhood when the newly declared free and independent
A Bridal Gift to Miss Juliana Watts, who Married General Edward M. Biddle in 1836
States of America, being in imminent peril, needed and received that magnanimous support of personal service and private wealth that is indelibly associated with his name. It is stated that after saving the army from starvation in the awful winter of 1777-78, he was made commissary- general of the entire continental army, on the personal recommendation of his military chief and warm friend, General Washington. These patriotic financial sacrifices greatly impaired his estate. The mansion at his beautiful country seat
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on the Conodoguinet, near the cave, has been destroyed by fire. It was here that he spent the closing years of his life, and here he died at the age of sixty-three. Strangely enough, no memorial can be found to mark the final resting-place of Eph- raim Blaine, illustrious officer in the Revolution- ary army.
When the Blaine home was dismantled, some of its splendid furniture was purchased by Mr. Michael Ege at private sale, and has been since then in the continuous possession of the Ege family. The charming chair in the illus- tration represents one of a A Blaine Chair dozen that glorify the rooms in which they stand, along with other furniture and portraits of their own beautiful period.
More or less interest has always centered about the stately home that is now owned and occupied by Hon. F. E. Beltzhoover. It is one of the most
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charming residences in Carlisle, and was erected in 1815 by Stephen Duncan, a son of Supreme Court Justice, Thomas Duncan. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan moved into their home before it was entirely finished, and upon the day when the mar- ble for the front steps was delivered at the house, occurred the sudden and untimely death of the young wife. Mr. Duncan immediately sold the property to his brother-in-law, Benjamin Stiles, and sadly left Carlisle. Mr. Stiles moved into the house at once, and resided there with his family for twenty-four years.
The next purchaser of this interesting mansion was the Rev. John F. E. Thorn, an Episcopal clergyman, whose death left the property in the hands of his childless widow, a daughter of Judge Hamilton. Mrs. Thorn was a clever but eccentric woman, whose original sayings and doings are asso- ciated in the minds of people still living with the home in which she dwelt through the closing years of her life. Among local legends, we find that she was occupied in her old age in making quaint doll effigies of the celebrities of the day, or in painting their miniature portraits, and one of her expressed ambitions was to "see the devil just long enough
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Residence of the Hon. F. E. Beltzhoover I12
to get his da- guerreotype."
Her partici- pation in social life was unique in the story of a town that prided itself upon its hospi- tality, her hours being early, her collations sim- ple, and the music furnished by herself. One of her special- ties was the singing of the Lord's Prayer with an ac- companiment played on her spinet, which, it was said, "she played as if the
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keys were red hot." Upon one occasion, in receiving her guests, she in- dicated the hour at which they were to leave by saying, "I don't wish you to say that I close my house at eight o'clock, for I will be glad to have you remain until half-past eight® to-night."
Hallway in Residence of Hon. F. E. Beltzhoover
One of the singular accidents of the war period occurred in Mrs. Thorn's drawing-room during the shelling of the town. A ball, having pierced the wall of the house, passed through a large mirror, cutting a hole in the glass with cleanest edges, and shattered the sofa on the opposite side of the room.
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A near neighbor was Chief Justice Gibson, one of the most distinguished men who ever lived in Carlisle. He came first into the town as a young student from Perry County, adding to his collegiate course the study of medi- cine in the office of Dr. Samuel A. McCoskry. In later life, he prided him- self upon his knowledge of this profession almost as much as upon what he knew of jurisprudence. In the house adjoining that now occupied by the Car- lisle Club he lived, and in John Bannister Gibson, LL.D. it his children were born, and from it he was carried to his last resting-place in the Old Graveyard, in May, 1853. One of his characteristics was a profound love of music, and as an amateur violinist he was perhaps not excelled in the United States. He was never known to leave home without his violin. Whether starting on his circuit on horseback, or in later years traveling by railroad, he might perhaps forget a legal document or an article of clothing, but never his
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musical companion. He was accustomed to rely upon its strains for help in solving knotty prob- lems, and often laid down the pen to reach for the violin, -its sweet melody floating through the house as he walked up and down his room, fram- ing the legal opinions that have ever been treas- ured as marvels of judicial learning.
On one occasion Judge Gibson attended a banquet in Boston at which Daniel Webster was present. The latter left the feast early, and in- advertently took Judge Gibson's hat with him. When the party broke up, the judge put on Mr. Webster's hat, unaware that it was not his own since it fitted him perfectly, and the mistake was not discovered until the next day. Each of these celebrated men had an unusually large head, about twenty-four inches in circumference, Judge Gib- son's being slightly the larger of the two.
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