Below is a zoomed in map of Evergreen Cemetery and East Cemetery Hill on the southern edge of town. Each of these icons have an important explanation for the Thorn family. The black icon is for the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse. This is where John Peter Thorn and Elizabeth Thorn and their kids would be born and witness the battle of Gettysburg. After Mr. Thorn survived the Civil War, he returned to Gettysburg and continued to work at the cemetery. A few years later, he wanted something new to do, so he resigned from the cemetery and found work as one of the superintendents for the Soldiers National Cemetery. The square dot is the location of the office for the Soldier’s Cemetery along Baltimore Pike. After Peter’s term within the Soldier’s National Cemetery, you’d think he’d like to relax with the family.
On the flip side, Peter becomes one of the sole owners of the Wagon Hotel, which is the location of the red-flag. This hotel was around 50-60 rooms and was at the corner of Steinwehr Avenue and Baltimore Street. Veterans would come to town and stay at this hotel, since it was one of the first things a visitor would see coming into town from the south. Elizabeth Thorn would clean and cook, and Peter Thorn would take care of the liquor and the duties of the hotel. Not a fun way to relax with taking care of 6 children after the Civil War. The Thorn family would have ownership of the hotel until 1874, before it burnt down in 1875.
Between the Civil War and the closeness of families, the Thorn family probably saw Georgianna Wade McClellan and her family. Georgianna and their two young children were here until 1868 when they moved west to Iowa. The location where the McClellan family grew up in and the place where her sister, Jennie Wade, died in is the broken heart on the map.
Finally, after surviving the Civil War, and working within the hotel, and some of their children getting married and starting their own families, Elizabeth and Peter get to reside near the location of the blue star from 1874 to 1901. This is where they owned an 8-acre farm and lived on the land close to the southern edge of town.
Around the turn of the century, Elizabeth and Peter are getting in their older age and needed to be closer to town. They rented a house out on West Middle Street that is still standing to this day until they both passed away in 1907. They are both buried within Evergreen Cemetery.