I'll admit I was partly inspired to return to Adams County by recent events. Like many people across the commonwealth and the country, I've been fascinated by the exploits of Kevin Bacon the pig, who escaped from his enclosure a few weeks ago and was on the run. Kevin, who is a beloved pet, never went very far from his Cumberland Township farm home; he would come and eat and then leave again, and it was only last week that his 'mom' managed to catch him at last. He gained national fame as various news outlets picked up his story, and even the human Kevin Bacon took an interest in his namesake's antics. If you somehow managed to miss the nonsense and want to see what all went on, just look for the hashtag #GettysburgKevin on social media.
Happy to have their mischievous porker back where he belongs, Kevin's human parents changed the name of their Facebook page from "Bring Kevin Bacon Home" to "Kevin's Home Adventures" and revealed their plans for the farm, which is chiefly occupied by various rescue animals - they plan on opening their gates to the public, offering programs especially for children and adults with neurodivergence or mental health needs. They're also looking into writing a series of children's books about Kevin! To that end, the Rumbaughs have started a GoFundMe to bring in enough capital to improve the fencing on the farm and purchase some heaters, which will allow them to host hot cocoa events in the winter. If you'd like to help these incredibly nice people achieve their dream of sharing Kevin and his friends with the world, please check out the fundraiser by clicking here.
 |
| The marker is located at 44 York Street, where the tavern once stood |
The tavern was very advantageously placed. At the time it was built, it sat on an east-west road connecting the city of Yorktown (later just York) to the western part of the state, which is probably why the road in question is known as York Street today. Eventually, it was situated at a very important crossroads - the east-west road connected Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, and the north-south road connected Shippensburg to Baltimore. As you can imagine, this brought wagonloads of travelers through the growing community, and Sam made a tidy profit renting his rooms and selling food and drinks.
By 1775, Gettys Tavern (as it was known) was the popular watering hole of the area. So it makes perfect sense that it was used as a mustering place for the brewing Revolutionary War.
The majority of Doudel's company was formed on that day, from residents of Marsh Creek and other nearby settlements. The York County riflemen, as they were known, mustered in Yorktown exactly one month later and began their march. Traveling 600 miles to Boston, they joined General George Washington's siege of the city, and are remembered today as having been the first (or at least among the first) to answer the call to arms.
Incidentally, the York rifle company never fully disbanded. It exists even today, in the form of the 131st Transportation Company of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. They have a historical marker of their own outside the old York County courthouse.
As for our friend Sam, he did not personally enlist, which is understandable given his approximate age at the time the war began. Instead, he donated generously to the Continental cause - so much so that when the war ended, he was in a bit of money trouble. He still owned a lot of land, however, so he sold most of it to his son James in order to return to financial stability, and James in turn sold off the land in parcels. In 1786, the Marsh Creek Settlement was turned into a formal community, and given the name of Gettysburg in honor of its most prominent citizen. Sam passed away a few years later, in 1790, and is buried in Black's Graveyard in Gettysburg.
It's believed that after Sam's death, his tavern ceased to be, well, a tavern. His son James, who was heavily involved in civic and political affairs in Gettysburg, built a new brick tavern roughly 200 feet away from the tavern where he had grown up, still on present-day York Street; the old one was strictly reserved as a residence for his beloved mother. He married Mary Todd, who is believed to have been a relative of some kind to Mary Todd Lincoln, and they had a number of children. James was also involved with military service and real estate, so it's believed that after 1803 he allowed others to rent and operate his tavern. He, Mary, Isabella, and one of James and Mary's daughters were all victims of a typhus epidemic in 1815, and died within ten days of one another. James and Mary are buried in Gettysburg's Evergreen Cemetery, while Isabella was interred beside Sam.
After James's death, his tavern was purchased by William Gillespie, and passed through the hands of many different owners until it was destroyed by fire in 1968. By that time, the original Gettys Tavern was also long gone, having burned down in 1880. Descendants of the Gettys family are spread across the United States today; some of those who trace their lineage to Sam and Isabella's son William created a new memorial headstone for Gettysburg's namesake couple in 1998.
The Scotch-Irish settlement of Marsh Creek is, today, a bustling borough and, of course, one of the most important locations from the American Civil War. I'm sure that when Sam Gettys hung up his shingle and served his first pint from behind the tavern's bar, he had no idea what was in store for the community that would eventually bear his name.
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I would love to hear from you!