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Pennsylvania Route 97 (south)
Encyclopedia
Pennsylvania Route 97 also known as Baltimore Pike, is one of two routes known as Pennsylvania Route 97, the other is in Erie
. PA 97 in Adams County is a local road that has its northern terminus at U.S. Route 15
southeast of Gettysburg
. Its southern terminus is at the Maryland
state line where it continues as Maryland Route 97
. From the northern terminus of PA 97, Baltimore Pike runs across the Gettysburg Battlefield
between Lake Heritage, Pennsylvania
(Heritage Drive) and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
(Baltimore Street). The former tollroad is the remaining rural unnumbered section of the former U.S. Route 140
(Pennsylvania "Legislative Route 42").http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=49c9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=RzcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7534,5590422&dq=route-42+gettysburg&hl=en The highway's range of addresses is between Evergreen Cemetery
(799 Baltimore Pike) at the summit of East Cemetery Hill
past the Gettysburg National Military Park
southern border (#1364) to the 7-Eleven
convenience store (#1975) just south of U.S. Route 15.
border in Germany Township
, heading north on two-lane undivided Baltimore Pike. The road continues south into Maryland as MD 97
. From the state line, the route passes through agricultural areas with some homes, turning northwest and passing near a housing development. PA 97 enters Littlestown
and becomes Queen Street, passing several homes and some businesses. In the commercial center of town, the route crosses PA 194
. After passing more residential and commercial development, PA 97 crosses back into Germany Township and becomes Baltimore Pike again, passing through farmland along with some homes and woodland. The road crosses the Alloway Creek into Mount Joy Township
and passes through the communities of Germantown and Two Taverns
. The route continues through increasing areas of rural homes and businesses before widening into a four-lane divided highway
as it passes through commercial areas near the Gettysburg Village Outlets. PA 97 reaches its northern terminus at an interchange with the US 15
freeway, with Baltimore Pike continuing toward Gettysburg National Military Park
and Gettysburg
.
. Baltimore Pike, e.g., in official Battle of Gettysburg
and commemorative era park commission reports) was a toll road that ran from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
, south-southeastward to Petersburg
(now Littlestown) before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Sproul Roads Act that placed private turnpikes under the commonwealth's control. The Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Company was chartered on March 7, 1807. The Baltimore Pike was part of the original Baltimore
-to-Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
, stage route which crossed the west-east Nichol's Gap Road on the north hill slope where Samuel Gettys established his 1761 tavern
. The turnpike's toll gates and houses included one on the south bank of Rock Creek. The 19th century Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike bridge over Rock Creek (Monocacy River) (replaced in 1802) was the location of a toll house
and the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse
was built along the pike in 1855. The pike was used as a maneuver route for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg
(e.g., "at Musser's farm on July 2, where "the turnpike to Baltimore crosses Rock Creek
").http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5FcmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=af8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4346,3052655&dq=rocky-ridge+devil's-den&hl=en The first Union soldier killed in action at the Gettysburg Battlefield (George Washington Sandoe) was shot along the pike's summit on June 28, and the telegraph key for the Gettysburg Railroad Station
was moved to Cemetery Hill
during the battle to use the telegraph lines along the pike. Artillery bunkers (lunettes) established along the Baltimore Pike were used during the July 2
Battle of East Cemetery Hill
, and artillery fire toward the Cemetery Hill portion of the road was on July 1
(from Oak Ridge), July 2 (Benner Hill), and July 3
(Seminary Ridge
& Warfield Ridge). Several addresses along the Baltimore Pike were Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, and the post-battle Union military camp to secure the Gettysburg area and to salvage arms/equipment was established along the pike on East Cemetery Hill (also the location of the first of the Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
).
By October 1900 Battle of Gettysburg
markers had been placed by the United States Department of War
along the Baltimore Pike,http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored%20Items/BCRReports/1900.html which had been modernized by 1943 and resurfaced before 1972.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j39bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DVENAAAAIBAJ&pg=6781,4318298&dq=route-42+gettysburg&hl=en Numerous postbellum battlefield monuments are along the pike, which on January 23, 2004 were designated historic district contributing structures (cf.
Baltimore Pike properties and homes in the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District. In the 20th century after the Good Roads Movement
, the route from Gettysburg to the Mason-Dixon Line
was designated US 140
, but that designation was removed by 1980. The portion south of US 15 was designated PA 97 in 1979.
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
. PA 97 in Adams County is a local road that has its northern terminus at U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15
U.S. Route 15 is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Carolina to Interstate 86 and NY 17 in Painted Post, New York.US...
southeast of Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
. Its southern terminus is at the Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
state line where it continues as Maryland Route 97
Maryland Route 97
Maryland Route 97 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 29 in Silver Spring, Montgomery County north to the Pennsylvania border in Carroll County, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 97...
. From the northern terminus of PA 97, Baltimore Pike runs across the Gettysburg Battlefield
Gettysburg Battlefield
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 site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
between Lake Heritage, Pennsylvania
Lake Heritage, Pennsylvania
Lake Heritage is an unincorporated census-designated place in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,333 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Lake Heritage is located at ....
(Heritage Drive) and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
(Baltimore Street). The former tollroad is the remaining rural unnumbered section of the former U.S. Route 140
U.S. Route 140
U.S. Route 140 U.S. Route 140 U.S. Route 140 ( was a U.S. highway connecting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. The route was deleted from the system in 1980; today the road's route is followed by portions of Pennsylvania Route 97, Maryland Route 97, and Maryland Route 140.Though it...
(Pennsylvania "Legislative Route 42").http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=49c9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=RzcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7534,5590422&dq=route-42+gettysburg&hl=en The highway's range of addresses is between Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)
Evergreen Cemetery is a privately-owned rural cemetery near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with 5 notable interments: John L. Burns , Steve Courson , Marianne Moore , Eddie Plank , and Oscar Shaw...
(799 Baltimore Pike) at the summit of East Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
past the Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park is an administrative unit of the National Park Service's northeast region and a subunit of federal properties of Adams County, Pennsylvania, with the same name, including the Gettysburg National Cemetery...
southern border (#1364) to the 7-Eleven
7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
convenience store (#1975) just south of U.S. Route 15.
Route description
PA 97 begins at the MarylandMaryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
border in Germany Township
Germany Township, Pennsylvania
Germany Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,269 at the 2000 census. The majority of early settlers were from Germany and Great Britain.-Geography:...
, heading north on two-lane undivided Baltimore Pike. The road continues south into Maryland as MD 97
Maryland Route 97
Maryland Route 97 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 29 in Silver Spring, Montgomery County north to the Pennsylvania border in Carroll County, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 97...
. From the state line, the route passes through agricultural areas with some homes, turning northwest and passing near a housing development. PA 97 enters Littlestown
Littlestown, Pennsylvania
Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census.Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named "Petersburg". German settlers in the area came to call the town "Kleine Stedtle"...
and becomes Queen Street, passing several homes and some businesses. In the commercial center of town, the route crosses PA 194
Pennsylvania Route 194
Pennsylvania Route 194 is a long north–south state highway located in south-central Pennsylvania. The southern end is at the Maryland State Line and the northern terminus is at the intersection with PA 74 in the town of Dillsburg.-Route description:PA 194 begins at the Maryland border in...
. After passing more residential and commercial development, PA 97 crosses back into Germany Township and becomes Baltimore Pike again, passing through farmland along with some homes and woodland. The road crosses the Alloway Creek into Mount Joy Township
Mount Joy Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Mount Joy Township is a township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,232 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 26.1 square miles , of which, 25.9 square miles of it is land and...
and passes through the communities of Germantown and Two Taverns
Two Taverns, Pennsylvania
Two Taverns, Pennsylvania, is an unincorporated community on Pennsylvania Route 97 between Gettysburg and Littlestown, Pennsylvania. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Kilpatrick's Union cavalry was ordered to the community prior to a charge at the South Cavalry Field.-References:...
. The route continues through increasing areas of rural homes and businesses before widening into a four-lane divided highway
Divided Highway
Divided Highway is a compilation album by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 2003. . All tracks are taken from the albums Cycles and Brotherhood .-Track listing:...
as it passes through commercial areas near the Gettysburg Village Outlets. PA 97 reaches its northern terminus at an interchange with the US 15
U.S. Route 15 in Pennsylvania
U.S. Route 15 is a north-south U.S. Highway in Pennsylvania.-Route description:US 15 enters Pennsylvania south of Gettysburg, Adams County. The route heads to the north toward Harrisburg. It joins with U.S. 11 going along the west shore of the Susquehanna River until they split across the river...
freeway, with Baltimore Pike continuing toward Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park is an administrative unit of the National Park Service's northeast region and a subunit of federal properties of Adams County, Pennsylvania, with the same name, including the Gettysburg National Cemetery...
and Gettysburg
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
.
History
The Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike (colloqColloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
. Baltimore Pike, e.g., in official Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
and commemorative era park commission reports) was a toll road that ran from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
, south-southeastward to Petersburg
Littlestown, Pennsylvania
Littlestown is a borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,434 at the 2010 census.Originally laid out by Peter Klein in 1760, the town was first named "Petersburg". German settlers in the area came to call the town "Kleine Stedtle"...
(now Littlestown) before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the Sproul Roads Act that placed private turnpikes under the commonwealth's control. The Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Company was chartered on March 7, 1807. The Baltimore Pike was part of the original Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-to-Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, 41 miles west-southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 1900, 3,228 people...
, stage route which crossed the west-east Nichol's Gap Road on the north hill slope where Samuel Gettys established his 1761 tavern
Industrial history of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
The Industrial history of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, includes shoemaking and coachbuilding in the 19th century, a copper mine on High Street, furniture making in the early 20th century, and the tourism industry following the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg...
. The turnpike's toll gates and houses included one on the south bank of Rock Creek. The 19th century Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike bridge over Rock Creek (Monocacy River) (replaced in 1802) was the location of a toll house
Toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road or canal. Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries...
and the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse
Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse
The Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse was the Battle of Gettysburg headquarters of General Oliver Howard and was damaged by nearby military engagements on East Cemetery Hill . The gatehouse's 2 brick towers support a memorial arch, and the structure was repaired in 1885 when an attached lodge was built....
was built along the pike in 1855. The pike was used as a maneuver route for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
(e.g., "at Musser's farm on July 2, where "the turnpike to Baltimore crosses Rock Creek
Crawford's charge
Crawford's charge was a Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day, skirmish at the end of McLaws' Assault. Brig. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford's Pennsylvania Reserves had arrived to the Gettysburg Battlefield from the Baltimore Pike to the northeast slope of Little Round Top after General Daniel Sickles had...
").http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5FcmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=af8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4346,3052655&dq=rocky-ridge+devil's-den&hl=en The first Union soldier killed in action at the Gettysburg Battlefield (George Washington Sandoe) was shot along the pike's summit on June 28, and the telegraph key for the Gettysburg Railroad Station
Gettysburg Railroad Station
-American Civil War:Train service to the depot was stopped when Jubal Early's Confederates burned the Rock Creek trestle on June 27, 1863. The depot's telegrapher, a young daughter of "Mr...
was moved to Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
during the battle to use the telegraph lines along the pike. Artillery bunkers (lunettes) established along the Baltimore Pike were used during the July 2
Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day
The Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day was an attempt by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to capitalize on his first day's success. He launched the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple Gettsyburg Battlefield attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G...
Battle of East Cemetery Hill
Battle of East Cemetery Hill
The battle of East Cemetery Hill was a Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day, military engagement in which the Louisiana Tigers Brigade and Hoke's Brigade of Confederates attacked, and were repelled by, the Harris and von Gilsa brigades of the XI Corps plus reinforcements...
, and artillery fire toward the Cemetery Hill portion of the road was on July 1
Battle of Gettysburg, First Day
The First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War took place on July 1, 1863, and began as an engagement between isolated units of the Army of Northern Virginia under Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac under Union Maj. Gen. George G. Meade...
(from Oak Ridge), July 2 (Benner Hill), and July 3
Pickett's Charge
Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander,...
(Seminary Ridge
Seminary Ridge
Seminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...
& Warfield Ridge). Several addresses along the Baltimore Pike were Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, and the post-battle Union military camp to secure the Gettysburg area and to salvage arms/equipment was established along the pike on East Cemetery Hill (also the location of the first of the Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War
Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the United States Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the United States Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps....
).
By October 1900 Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
markers had been placed by the United States Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
along the Baltimore Pike,http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored%20Items/BCRReports/1900.html which had been modernized by 1943 and resurfaced before 1972.http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=j39bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DVENAAAAIBAJ&pg=6781,4318298&dq=route-42+gettysburg&hl=en Numerous postbellum battlefield monuments are along the pike, which on January 23, 2004 were designated historic district contributing structures (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
Baltimore Pike properties and homes in the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District. In the 20th century after the Good Roads Movement
Good Roads Movement
The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. Advocates for improved roads led by bicyclists turned local agitation into a national political movement....
, the route from Gettysburg to the Mason-Dixon Line
Mason-Dixon line
The Mason–Dixon Line was surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the resolution of a border dispute between British colonies in Colonial America. It forms a demarcation line among four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and...
was designated US 140
U.S. Route 140
U.S. Route 140 U.S. Route 140 U.S. Route 140 ( was a U.S. highway connecting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Baltimore, Maryland. The route was deleted from the system in 1980; today the road's route is followed by portions of Pennsylvania Route 97, Maryland Route 97, and Maryland Route 140.Though it...
, but that designation was removed by 1980. The portion south of US 15 was designated PA 97 in 1979.