Scenes from the area of the Battle of Gettysburg’s Day One…
The famous and critical battle at Gettysburg began near this point on McPherson’s farm. The Union cavalry and the Confederate infantry met on the lands near Chambersburg Pike around 8:00 AM on July 1st, and fighting escalated north and south along the ridge. General Reynolds died in the nearby Herbst's Woods that same day.
The farm, with the remaining barn shown above, was owned by Edward McPherson, who had just finished two terms as a U.S. Congressman. He later served under Lincoln as Deputy Commissioner of Revenue. The McPherson farm was being rented by the John Slentz family during the battle; they were forced to flee to town, and stayed at the Lutheran Seminary (chapel steeple visible in the background of the first photograph) for three months while repairs were made to the property.
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The Lutheran Theological Seminary's landscape played a role on day one in several facets, and the place of learning continued to grow after the famous battle. The Seminary’s Valentine Hall, built in 1895, underwent a multi-million dollar renovation a few years back. The structure was originally designed by architect John Dempwolf of York in a French Renaissance style. (Participants in my York photowalk encountered some Dempwolf structures.)
The building’s original primary entrance faced the town of Gettysburg, but switched to the reverse side at some point in its life. The renovation again placed the visually inviting entrance toward town. It originally housed a seminary library, chapel, classrooms, student rooms and a gymnasium. While it still finds itself housing classrooms, the renovated facility added uses such as administrative offices, a coffee shop and a bookstore.
The Seminary's chapel, The Church of the Abiding Presence, was dedicated in 1942. It was the first Seminary building to face west toward the Seminary Ridge Road. Its 125 foot tall spire and bell tower is visible throughout much of the town.
One of the campus's most famous buildings is Schmucker Hall, also known as Old Dorm. Read about this structure in my post, The Cupola on the Ridge.
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