Typical small towns around the 1900s had railroads that were being developed and expanding westward. Here in Gettysburg, railroad traffic had already been in town for over fifty years. The Western Maryland depot on Carlisle Street opened in 1858 to passengers, while the Gettysburg and Harrisburg railroad depot on Washington Street opened in 1884. However, not much was known about the surrounding buildings or the layout of the tracks.
Thanks in part with looking up old railroad maps, Western Maryland black and white “blueprints” of downtown Gettysburg presented itself. Multiple things can be found within this map above.
- Surefoot Heel and Rubber Company transferred hands into the trolly building and power plant in town
- Multiple railroad sidings were located north and south of the depot on Washington street
- locations of buildings downtown Gettysburg in 1919
Railroad and trolly tracks don’t exist anymore through the battlefield, but the history remains. Let’s take a ride into the past and explore what was around town in the 1900s.