Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Chambersburg is a borough in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is 13 mi miles north of Maryland and the Mason-Dixon line and 52 mi southwest of Harrisburg in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley. Chambersburg is the county seat of Franklin County. The United States Census Bureau estimates the population within the borough limits as of July 1, 2008, as 18,302. When combined with the surrounding Greene, Hamilton, and Guilford Townships, the population of Greater Chambersburg is 52,273. Chambersburg is at the core of the Chambersburg Micropolitan Statistical Area which includes surrounding Franklin County. The population of the Chambersburg Micropolitan Area in 2008 was 143,495.

Chambersburg's settlement began in 1730 when water mills were built at the confluence of Conococheague Creek and Falling Spring Creek that now run through the center of the town. Its history includes episodes related to the French and Indian War, the Whiskey Rebellion, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, and the American Civil War. The borough was the only major northern community burned down by Confederate forces during the war.

Chambersburg is located along the Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, between McConnellsburg and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and along U.S. 11, the Molly Pitcher Highway, between Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland. Interstate 81 skirts the borough to its east.

European settlement
Native Americans living or hunting in the area during the 18th century included the Iroquois, Lenape and Shawnee. "Falling Spring" was first settled by Benjamin Chambers, a Scots-Irish immigrant, in 1730, who started a grist mill and saw mill by a then-26 ft high waterfall where Falling Spring Creek joined Conococheague Creek. The creek provided power to the mills, and the settlement was known as "Falling Spring."

On March 30, 1734, Chambers was issued a "Blunston license" for 400 acre, from a representative of the Penn family, but European settlement in the area was of questionable legality until the treaty ending the French and Indian War, because not all Indian tribes with land claims had signed treaties. The Penn family encouraged settlement in the area in order to strengthen its case in a border dispute with the Maryland Colony, which had resulted in hostilities known as Cresap's War. This dispute was not settled until 1767 and the surveying of the border known as the Mason-Dixon line. Chambers traveled to England to testify in support of Penn's claims. To maintain peace with the Indians, European settlers were sometimes removed from the nearby area. In May 1750, Benjamin Chambers participated in removing settlers from nearby Burnt Cabins, which took its name from the incident.

The area was officially part of Chester County, then Lancaster, and then Cumberland until it became part of the newly established Franklin County in 1784.

The Great Wagon Road connecting Philadelphia with the Shenandoah Valley passed nearby. In 1744, it was completed through Harris's Ferry, Carlisle, Shippensburg, and Chambersburg to the Potomac River. In 1748 a local militia was formed for protection against Indians, with Benjamin Chambers being named colonel.

Chambersburg was on the frontier during the French and Indian War. The area's population dropped from about 3,000 in 1755 at the start of the war to about 300, with most settlers not returning until after 1764 when the peace treaty was signed. Benjamin Chambers built a private stone fort during the war, which was equipped with two 4 pounder cannons and fighting occurred nearby. Because Chambers's fort was otherwise lightly defended, the authorities attempted to remove the cannons to prevent them from being captured by Indians and used against other forts. The attempted removal was unsuccessful, and one of the cannons was used to celebrate Independence Day in 1840. The Forbes Road and other trails going to Fort Pitt passed nearby as well. The Forbes Road developed into part of the main road connecting Pittsburg and Philadelphia, and much later into US 30, and Chambersburg developed as a transportation hub at the crossroads of Forbes Road and the Great Wagon Road.

Fighting continued in the area after the war, most notably the Enoch Brown school massacre during Pontiac's Rebellion and the Black Boys rebellion against British troops at Fort Loudon.

The first settlers were Scots-Irish Presbyterians and German Protestants came soon afterward. Quakers and English Protestants, who made up a large proportion of early Pennsylvania settlers, did not often move as far west as Chambersburg. Blacks lived in Chambersburg almost from the start of settlement. Benjamin Chambers owned a black female slave sometime before the French and Indian War and twenty slaves were recorded as taxable property in 1786.

The earliest church was established by Scots-Irish Presbyterians in 1734. Chambers gave land to the congregation in 1768, requiring only a single rose as annual rent. Later land was given to the First Lutheran Church (1780) and Zion Reformed Church (organized in 1780) under the same agreement, and these churches came to be known as the "Rose Rent Churches." A Catholic community organized in 1785. The Jewish cemetery dates back to 1840. The Mt. Moriah First African Baptist Church dates to 1887.

The town was first laid out in 1764, and lots were advertised for sale on July 19 in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette "Notice is hereby given to the Public, that there is a town is laid out on Conegogig Creek, on both sides of the Great Falling Spring, where is falls into said creek, by Benjamin Chambers, of Cumberland County. Lots may be had on reasonable terms and Firm Deeds granted for them by said Chambers: the day appointed for drawing of said lots is the 28th day of June inst.. which is a Thursday. The situation of this town is very good for water and stone, both free and marble, and sand all handy to the spot, and a well timbered part of the country adjoining it; within said town is a good Gistmill, Sawmill, and Grindstones going by water. The articles of the Town shall be read on the day appointed for the drawing of the Lots, and the terms of the sale published by me"

- Benjamin Chambers

1775–1858
In June 1775, soon after the Battle of Lexington, local troops were raised to fight the British in the American Revolution under the command of Benjamin Chambers's eldest son Captain James Chambers, as part of the 1st Pennsylvania Regiment. These troops were among the first non-New Englanders to join the siege of Boston, arriving on August 7, 1775. James Chambers fought for seven years during the revolution, reaching the rank of Colonel of Continental troops on September 26, 1776. His two brothers, William and Benjamin, Jr., each served for much of the war and reached the rank of Captain. James Chambers commanded local troops at the Battle of Long Island, and at White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. He was part of the rear guard covering the retreat from Brooklyn, and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine while facing Hessian troops under General Knuphausen at Chadds Ford.

During the Whiskey Rebellion, local citizens raised a liberty pole in support of the rebels, and to protest conscription of soldiers to put down the rebellion. Nevertheless, these citizens were censured in a town meeting and removed the pole the next day. President George Washington, while leading United States troops against the rebels, came through town on the way from Carlisle to Bedford, staying overnight on October 12, 1794. According to tradition, Washington lodged with Dr. Robert Johnson, a surgeon in the Pennsylvania line during the Revolution. This march was one of only two times that a sitting president personally commanded the military in the field. (The other was after President James Madison fled the British occupation of Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812.) After sending the troops toward Pittsburgh from Bedford under General Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, Washington returned through Chambersburg sometime between October 21–26. James Chambers was appointed a Brigadier General of Militia during the Whiskey Rebellion.

Chambersburg was incorporated on March 21, 1803, and declared the County Seat when the State Assembly established a formal government. The first courthouse was John Jack's tavern on the Diamond (town square) in 1784, with a permanent courthouse built in 1793, and the first county jail built 1795. The "Old Jail" was built in 1818, survived the fire of 1864 and is the oldest jail building in Pennsylvania. It was originally used as the sheriff's residence and had the longest continuous use of any jail in the state, operating until 1971. Today the Old Jail is a museum and home to the Franklin County – Kittochtinny Historical Society. The county's gallows still stand in the jail's courtyard.

Much of the town's growth was due to its position as a transportation center, first as the starting point on the Forbes Road to Pittsburgh. The U.S. Congress placed Chambersburg on the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh postal road in 1803. The road was rebuilt as the Chambersburg-Bedford Turnpike in 1811. The Cumberland Valley Railroad was built in 1837 and was the area's center of economic activity for nearly 100 years. Until the completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line in 1857, the fastest route from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia was by stagecoach from Pittsburgh to Chambersburg, and then by train to Philadelphia.

Civil War era
By 1859, Chambersburg was a stop on the Underground Railroad. John Brown stayed in an upstairs room at Mary Ritner's boarding house between June and October, 1859 while preparing for his raid on Harpers Ferry. Several of his fellow raiders stayed in the house as well, and four of them escaped capture and briefly visited the house after the raid. The house still stands at 225 East King Street. While in Chambersburg Brown posed as Dr. Isaac Smith, an iron mine developer, and bought and stored weapons under the guise of mining equipment.

Brown (using the name John Smith) and John Henry Kagi met with Frederick Douglass and Shields Green at an abandoned quarry outside of town to discuss the raid on August 19. According to Douglass's account, Brown described the planned raid in detail and Douglass advised him against it. Douglass also provided $10 from a supporter, and had helped Green – a future raider – locate Brown.

During the American Civil War on October 10, 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, with 1800 cavalrymen, raided Chambersburg, destroying $250,000 of railroad property and taking 500 guns, hundreds of horses, and at least "eight young colored men and boys." They failed, however, to accomplish one of the main targets of the raid: to burn the railroad bridge across the Conococheague Creek at Scotland, five miles (8 km) north of town.

During the early days of the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, a Virginia cavalry brigade under Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins occupied the town and burned several warehouses and Cumberland Valley Railroad structures and the bridge at Scotland. From June 24–28, 1863, much of the Army of Northern Virginia passed through Chambersburg en route to Carlisle and Gettysburg, and Robert E. Lee established his headquarters at a nearby farm.

The following year, Chambersburg was invaded for a third time, as cavalry dispatched from the Shenandoah Valley by Jubal Early arrived. On July 30, 1864, a large portion of the town was burned down under orders from Brig. Gen. John McCausland for failing to provide a ransom of $500,000 in US currency, or $100,000 in gold. Among the few buildings left standing was the Masonic Temple, which had been guarded under orders by a Confederate mason. Norland, the home of Republican politician and editor Alexander McClure, was burned even though it was well north of the main fire.

"Remember Chambersburg" soon became a Union battle cry.

Memorial Fountain, built in the center of the diamond to honor the Civil War soldiers, was dedicated on July 17, 1878 with fifteen thousand people in attendance. A statue of a Union soldier stands next to the fountain facing south to guard against the return of southern raiders.

National Register of Historic Places
The following places in Chambersburg are on the National Register of Historic Places:

Historic images
Colorized photographs taken from a series of 22 postcard views mailed in 1921.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, Chambersburg has a total area of 6.8 sqmi, all land. The elevation is 617 ft above sea level. Chambersburg is located in the Cumberland Valley next to the Appalachian Mountains. It also sits right outside of Caledonia State Park, a 1125 acre park with fishing and hunting areas and hiking trails, including a section of the Appalachian Trail. Also outside of Chambersburg is Michaux State Forest, a 85000 acre forest. Both of theses places provide recreation for residents.

Conococheague Creek, a noted trout stream, runs through the center of town. It is a tributary of the Potomac River. The northernmost reach of the Potomac watershed is a few miles north of town.

Chambersburg has a cold climate, according to the United States Department of Energy. The area receives anywhere from 38 to 42 in of precipitation per year. The average January low is 20 °F and the average high is 37 °F. The average July high is 85 °F and the average low is 62 °F.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,862 people, 7,722 households, and 4,386 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,601.3 people per square mile (1,003.9/km2). There were 8,305 housing units at an average density of 1,209.5 per square mile (466.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 86.43% White, 7.56% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.38% of the population.

There were 7,722 households out of which 24.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the borough the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 81.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $32,336, and the median income for a family was $40,352. Males had a median income of $31,803 versus $21,548 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,278. About 9.8% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

The population stood at 7,863 in 1890; 8,864 in 1900; 11,800 in 1910; 13,171 in 1920; and 14,852 in 1940. It was estimated to be around 18,000 people in January 2008.

Economy
The surrounding area has a large farming population, including many Amish and Mennonite families. Franklin County's largest crop is corn (maize) with 579 farms that cover 29916 acre of land. Franklin also has 344 wheat farms and 299 barley farms which combined cover 14063 acre. Manufacturing in Chambersburg includes machinery production, metal fabrication, and food processing according to the 1997 Economic Census of Franklin County. The largest sectors by payroll were manufacturing companies such as T B Wood's Inc., Manitowoc cranes, retail trade, and health care and social assistance. The economy of the area is still largely based on agriculture.

Retail stores such as Wal-Mart and Lowe's serve the population with jobs and basic needs. The Chambersburg Mall with four anchor stores and about fifty smaller stores is located in the unincorporated village of Scotland, about four miles (6 km) north of town on Interstate 81. Chambersburg's retail sector has grown quickly since 2006 with the opening of Target, Petsmart, Michaels, and Kohls near the newly built Exit 17 of Interstate 81. Several restaurants new to the region have also opened, including Starbucks (2), TGI Fridays, Red Robin, Fuddruckers, Moe's Southwest Grill, Ruby Tuesday, and Panera Bread.

The city's location on Interstate 81 within 100 mi of both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland encourages trucking and distribution businesses. The Letterkenny Army Depot five miles (8 km) north of town is a major employer. Camp David also employs Chambersburg residents. In 2004 Chambersburg had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $28,208, below the national average of $33,050.

Culture
Chambersburg is part of small town America. Recreation includes hunting, sports events such as baseball games at Henninger Field, and high school football games. The town also hosts a professional football team, the Chambersburg Cardinals, that plays in the Gridiron Developmental Football League. People in the area speak in Pittsburgh English or with a Central Pennsylvania accent, over-pronouncing "O's" and "I's". Caledonia State Park provides an area for outdoor activities, with the park especially busy on July 4th.

The Capitol Theatre was opened as a movie palace on Main Street in 1927. In 2003 it reopened as the Capitol Theatre Center and is home to the Capitol Theatre Main Stage and Auditorium, Chambersburg Council for the Arts, Caledonia Theatre Company, Chambersburg Ballet Theatre School, and Chambersburg Community Theatre.

Wilson College is home to the Cumberland Valley School of Music, a local school offering private instruction on various musical instruments. It offers a wide range of lessons, classes, workshops, and summer camps, as well as presenting numerous recitals and concerts in Thomson Hall. CVSM sponsors a children's chorus (the Cumberbunds), a community band, a community orchestra, a concert jazz band, and the New Horizons Band, for adults age 50 or older.

Journalist David Brooks in 2001 used Chambersburg and Franklin County to typify Republican “Red America.” According to Brooks, there is little obvious income inequality and people don’t define their place in society by their income level. They value the work ethic and are anti-union, anti-welfare, pro-free market, and religious social conservatives. The joke that Pennsylvanians tell about their state is that it has Philadelphia on one end, Pittsburgh on the other, and Alabama in the middle. Franklin County is in the Alabama part. . . . The local culture owes more to Nashville, Houston, and Daytona than to Washington, Philadelphia, or New York. ..

The conservatism I found in Franklin County is not an ideological or a reactionary conservatism. It is a temperamental conservatism. People place tremendous value on being agreeable, civil, and kind. . . They value continuity and revere the past.

Government
The municipal government operates under the Pennsylvania Borough Code, with the Town Council holding both legislative and executive authority. The ten councilmen are elected from five wards; two from each ward with staggered four year terms. The Mayor administers the Police Department and can cast tie-breaking votes on the Council. Other departments are administered by the Borough Manager.

Pete Lagiovane became Mayor on January 7, 2008.

As of January 2008, the town councilmen are:
 * 1st Ward: William F. McLaughlin (President of Council) and Allen B. Coffman
 * 2nd Ward: Thomas L. Newcomer and Janet L. Lukic
 * 3rd Ward: Elaine M. Swartz and Glenn K. Manns (Finance Chairman)
 * 4th Ward: Mary Beth Shank and Sharon A. Bigler (Assistant Finance Chairman)
 * 5th Ward: Heath Talhelm and Robert A.Wareham, Sr. (Vice-President of Council)

Chambersburg is part of the 9th Congressional District of Pennsylvania and represented by Bill Shuster (R) in the House of Representatives, and by Pat Toomey (R), and Bob Casey, Jr.(D) in the Senate.

Wilson College
Wilson College is a private, Presbyterian-related, liberal arts women's college founded in 1869 and named for its first major donor, Sarah Wilson of Chambersburg. The college has 800 students and is known for its Women With Children, Veterinary Medical Technician, and Equestrian programs.

Public Schools
Chambersburg Area Senior High School (CASHS) is a public school with around 1,800 students in grades 10–12, drawn from the borough of Chambersburg and the surrounding townships of Hamilton, Greene, Lurgan, Letterkenny and Guilford. CASHS is accredited by the Middle States Association and has occupied its current facilities since 1955. Principal Dr. Barry Purvis was recognized as the 2006 High School Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

J. Frank Faust Junior High School is the only public junior high school for eighth and ninth grade students of the Chambersburg Area School District. It serves about 1400 students.

Chambersburg Area Middle School (CAMS) is the only public school for sixth and seventh grade students in the Chambersburg Area School District. During the 2001–02 school year, CAMS was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

The Franklin County Career and Technology Center is also located in Chambersburg. FCCTC is a school designated for students and adults to learn vocational trades while still learning core subjects in school. The school offers training in about 20–30 different concentrations. There are currently six different school districts with students attending FCCTC: Chambersburg, Fannett-Metal, Greencastle-Antrim, Shippensburg, Tuscarora, and Waynesboro.

The Chambersburg school district includes seventeen elementary schools. Many school are being upgraded, rebuilt, or closed because of out-of-date buildings and lack of space. As of July 2008, the current School Board President is Stanley Helman. Other members include Anne Boryan, Renee Sharpe, Norman Blowers, Lori Leedy, Fred Rice, Dave Schiamanna, and Joe Tosten. One seat is currently being filled after the resignation of the previous board president, Dr. Thomas Orndorff.

Scotland School for Veterans' Children
The Scotland School for Veterans' Children (SSVC) was a state owned school that offered tuition-free residential education programs for children of Pennsylvania residents who are veterans or are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. Scotland School had an original founding date of 1863. It was founded as a result of two orphaned children going door to door begging for food. They knocked on the door of then governor, Andrew Gregg Curtin. Governor Curtin and his wife realized there was a forgotten group of people resulting from the American Civil War, the orphaned children of soldiers. Governor Curtin set up 70 schools across the state and they became known as the 'Soldier's Orphan Schools'. As students graduated, the student bodies of the schools began to decline and in 1895 all of the schools closed saved one, the one located in Scotland. The name was changed to Scotland School for Veteran's Children. The purpose was then changed to provide an education to any child of any veteran, whether that veteran was living or deceased. Because of this new purpose and subsequent name change, the founding date of the school was changed to 1895. It was located about four miles (6 km) north of Chambersburg in the unincorporated village of Scotland and had about 300 students in grades 3–12. The school was established in 1895 as the Pennsylvania Soldiers Orphans Industrial School. Over 10,000 students have been educated at the school. The 186 acre campus contains about 70 buildings including residential cottages. In 2009, Governor Ed Rendell removed funding for the school in the year's state budget, thereby forcing the school to close.

Private schools
Private schools include Corpus Christi, a Catholic school with 310 students and over 20 teachers and Cumberland Valley Christian School, a private Christian kindergarten through twelfth grade academy located in Chambersburg. Cumberland Valley Christian School is affiliated with the Open Door Church and has approximately four hundred students. Other private schools include the Montessori Academy of Chambersburg (22 months-8th grade, non-denominational) and Shalom Christian Academy (K-12, Mennonite affiliation), and several elementary schools with Mennonite, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Science, and other religious orientations.

Library
Coyle Free Library has roots going back to 1891, when a library of 166 books was organized by the local Afternoon Club. A member of the club, Blanche Coyle, left a bequest of $30,435 in 1915 to construct a library building. The building was completed in 1924, located at the corner of Second and Queen Streets. Later the library was made part of the Franklin County Library and began to receive funds from the County and State, though the Afternoon Club still donated funds though at least 1979. The building it currently occupies is a former post office.

Newspapers
The Chambersburg Public Opinion is the only daily newspaper published in town, and has weekday circulation about 17,000. It was founded in 1869 and is now owned in partnership by Gannett and MediaNews Group.

Television and radio
Television reception can be poor because of the surrounding mountains. WJAL, a family oriented station broadcasts from Chambersburg, and Harrisburg PBS station WITF-TV rebroadcasts via low-powered translator W38AN. Franklin County is included in Harrisburg DMA. All Harrisburg TV stations are available off air and on cable. WHTM is the first network affiliated television station to establish a bureau in Chambersburg. WHAG-TV, WWPB, and WWPX, broadcast from nearby Hagerstown, Maryland.

Chambersburg shares a radio market, the 165th largest in the United States, with Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and Hagerstown, Maryland.

Sister city

 * 🇯🇵 Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan

Notable residents and natives

 * Betty Andujar, Texas politician
 * Philip Berlin, inventor of the railroad sleeping car.
 * D. Dudley Bloom, United States Navy officer and American businessman
 * George K. Brady, United States Army officer. Briefly commander of the Department of Alaska.
 * Ike Brookens, MLB player in 1975 with the Detroit Tigers.
 * Tom Brookens, MLB player from 1979–1990, played third-base for the 1984 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers
 * Revolutionary War soldier Margaret Corbin, known as "Captain Molly"
 * Abolistionist publisher Martin Delany, who in 1865 became the first African-American field officer in the U.S. Army, was educated in Chambersburg in the 1830s.
 * Gus Dorner Major League Baseball pitcher (1902–1909).
 * Henry Burchard Fine (1858–1928) was a dean at Princeton University and mathematician.
 * Baseball Hall of Famer Nellie Fox was born and lived just west of town in St. Thomas Township.
 * Patrick Gass (1771–1870), the last surviving member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was born just outside Chambersburg (Falling Spring).
 * Kenton Harper, Virginia newspaper editor and Confederate army general during the Civil War, born and raised in Chambersburg
 * The Rev. John Grier Hibben, later President of Princeton University, served as pastor of Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, 1888–1891.
 * Stephen D. Houston, a renowned Mayanist scholar, epigrapher, and anthropologist was born in Chambersburg in 1958.
 * Archbishop John Hughes lived in Chambersburg between 1817 to 1819 before going on to Mount St. Mary's University. His family is buried at the Corpus Christi Church Cemetery in Chambersburg.
 * Journalist and author Gwen Ifill spent a portion of her childhood in Chambersburg while her father was pastor at St. James A.M.E. Church.
 * Alexander McClure, editor of the Franklin Repository from 1852–1864
 * David Fullerton Robison, a U.S. Representative, who in 1859 died of National Hotel disease, was born here
 * Joseph Winters an African-American inventor and abolitionist, moved to Chambersburg in 1830.
 * Sarah Wilson, namesake and first major donor of Wilson College
 * Rick Alexander and Lisa Harding famous morning duo on Mix 95 in Chambersburg, PA for 20+ years