Jump to content

Round Top, Pennsylvania

Add links
Coordinates: 39°47′41″N 77°13′59″W / 39.794792°N 77.23305°W / 39.794792; -77.23305
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Round Top
Round-Top[1]
Unincorporated community
1904 map depicting Round Top buildings along the Taneytown and Wheatfield roads (right).
1904 map depicting Round Top buildings along the Taneytown and Wheatfield roads (right).
Etymology: "Round-Top R. R. Station"
Round Top is located in Pennsylvania
Round Top
Round Top
Coordinates: 39°47′41″N 77°13′59″W / 39.794792°N 77.23305°W / 39.794792; -77.23305
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyAdams
TownshipCumberland
Establishedc. 1880
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
17325
Area code717
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]

History

[edit]

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

[edit]

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).

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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".[1]
  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. ^ a b "Private Sale". July 28, 1891. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  4. ^ a b 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.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Round_Top,_Pennsylvania&oldid=1194404559"