Mechanicsburg's Irving Female College

When the 2nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia left Harrisburg for the "seat of war", they, like other regiments, were speedily transported along the Cumberland Valley Railroad.  At each of the small towns along the route, hordes of townspeople turned out to cheer on the defenders of the Commonwealth.  Located about 8 miles west of Harrisburg, the small town of Mechanicsburg (originally named for the abundant amount of mechanics and machinists who lived in the area) turned out at the railroad station, and along the tracks, in droves that mid September in 1862.  The sights of their journey would be forever etched into the "green" soldiers' minds.  Louis Richards, a Reading militiaman in Co. G, remembered one particularly pleasing sight for the young men while passing through Mechanicsburg:

Crowds of people came out to the stations to meet us, and black and white, old and young, all joined in the heartiest demonstrations of welcome.  Were also greeted from the houses and roadsides all along the line by people waving their handkerchiefs and swinging their hats.  At Mechanicsburg a whole girls' school was out to see us.  This was a specially engaging sight to some of our number, who thought that that village would be a good place to camp.  The elite of the town were at the station, and S. pointed out to me the leading beauties of the place - I mean the ladies.  Soldiers of a day, we already began, in the midst of these inspiring scenes, to feel like real veterans.

An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania



Founded in 1856, the Irving Female College was named for famed author Washington Irving, who served on the board of trustees until his death in 1859.  It became the first female college in the nation to grant degrees in arts and science.  Irving Hall, a large Italianate building, was soon constructed, "amongst a beautiful grove and grounds" located along the Cumberland Valley Railroad tracks, and on the eastern end of town (an area soon known as Irvington).  Irving Hall could house "forty students, as well as supply the classroom, the parlor, the library, and the college offices."  In the early days of the school, the average enrollment was 91 students (many of which were day students who lived in the surrounding region).

By the end of the 19th Century, the College was prospering; a second building was needed.  Known as Columbian Hall, the new building, "contained 40 additional dormitory rooms on the upper floors and a large auditorium on the first floor."  In 1901, an expanded wing was constructed onto the eastern wing of Irving Hall, creating rooms for music, a kitchen, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium.  In it's hey-day, Irving Female College had buildings that were, "...imposing in appearance, substantially built of brick, conveniently arranged, and comfortably fitted up with the modern conveniences, and every thing calculated to make it an attractive and safe home, with full and thorough educational advantages for young ladies."  Some of Irving's "young ladies" would go on to be accomplished alumnae, including Ida Kast, Cumberland County's first female attorney, and Jane Deeter Ripon, President of the Girl Scouts of America. 

postcard of Irving Female College ca. 1901. Columbian Hall is located on the right.



postcard of Irving Female College ca. 1901. Expansion can be seen at left-rear of Irving Hall.



The presence of Irving was not just enjoyed by the young men of the Emergency Militia, but by the town itself, as it, "...provided Mechanicsburg with a source of culture, music, great literature and drama that the rural town would not have experienced otherwise."  An alumna later said "The college meant a great deal to the community.  It was a social center."

Sadly, the College's brighter days would soon be behind it. Suffering from a combination of the economic downturn due to the Great Depression, and increased competition from larger private universities and state funded colleges, the College was closed and its buildings sold off by 1937.  Irving and Columbian Halls would soon be renovated on the interior, and converted into apartment space, which they still remain as to this day. 



President's Hall ca. 1982 (built 1911, since demolished)

In 1954, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission placed a historical marker in front of the College along Main St., and in 1983, Irving Female College was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Through adaptive reuse and historic preservation, these historic buildings have stood, and continue to stand, as silent observers of our past. 



Irving Hall as seen today - Dave Maher

sources:

Egle, M.D., William H. An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Civil, Political, and Military, From it's Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Including Historical Descriptions of Each County in the State, Their Towns, and Industrial Resources. Harrisburg, PA: De Witt C. Goodrich & Co., 1876.

Richards, Louis. Eleven Days in the Militia During the War of the Rebellion; Being a Journal of the "Emergency" Campaign of 1862. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer, 1883.

Rose, Sarah, "Irving Female College National Register of Historic Places nomination form", 1982.  on file at the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, or online through the Cultural Resource GIS.

Harrisburg, PA: Then & Now

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather we had in Harrisburg today, I took the opportunity, on my lunch break, to take a stroll over to Capitol Park to reconnect with some "Emergency" history.
 
Created in 1810, Capitol Park, located adjacent to the Pennsylvania Capital building, was originally set aside by Harrisburg founder John Harris "for use by the state".  In the late summer of 1862, the state found another use for the park as a camp and parade ground for the thousands of Emergency Militiamen that were flooding into the city.  These citizen soldiers were answering Governor Curtin's alarm for defenders of the Commonwealth from the northward moving Rebel army of Robert E. Lee.  The scene below was captured by artist Theodore R. Davis, and was printed in the October 4, 1862 issue of Harper's Weekly.  In the picture, militiamen, donning civilian "uniforms", can be seen marching and drilling in the park, as well as marching northward along 3rd Street. 

The scene 150 years later has changed somewhat.  The park has undergone landscape changes, most notably during the construction of the Mexican War memorial (built 1869, out of frame to the right), and Harrisburg's own "City Beautiful Movement" in the early 20th Century.  Most recently there has been construction of a sidewalk and retaining wall along 3rd St.  The original capital building, which burned in 1897, was later replaced by the current Capital, which was built in 1906.  Many of the buildings along 3rd St. have been removed, but the Pine St. Presbyterian Church (built in 1860) can still be seen standing as a witness to those troubled times in our history.

sources:
Frew, Ken. Building Harrisburg : the architects & builders, 1719-1941. Harrisburg, PA: Historical Society of Dauphin County and Historic Harrisburg Association, 2009.

"John Harris' Gift". Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission historical marker, located near corner of 3rd & Walnut Sts., Capitol Park, Harrisburg, PA.

February 27, 1860: Abraham Lincoln & the Cooper Union




Abraham Lincoln, photographed February 27, 1860, just before speaking at Cooper Union    
- Library of Congress -



I realize that a 152nd anniversary doesn't seem as glamorous as a 150th, the mighty Sesquicentennial, however this evening marks the 152nd Anniversary of one of our country's most notable, and one of my personal favorite speeches.  While in grad school, I had the opportunity to research Abraham Lincoln's pivotal speech given at the Cooper Union in New York City on February 27, 1860.  Scouring over every word and line, again and again, I had an increased respect for the man (if that was possible).  Considered lengthy by today's standards and attention spans, Lincoln's speech is, among many other things, a finely crafted example of sound historical research, honed oratory skills, and sharpened debate tools.  It  is widely considered to be the speech that elevated Lincoln to the nomination, and ultimately the Presidency of the United States.

Rather than droning on and on, please take the time to view the excellent video below.  In the video, filmed live at the Cooper Union in 2004, Lincoln historian Harold Holzer provides an excellent narration of the events leading up to February 1860, and actor Sam Waterston gives a powerful reading of Lincoln's words that will transplant you back 152 years.  Enjoy!

Winter at Antietam

Despite the rather mild winter that we in the Mid-Atlantic region have been experiencing this year, winter did indeed make an appearance at Antietam National Battlefield a couple of weeks ago.  Luckily, this peaceful winter storm hit while I was volunteering for the day.  With little to no visitors in the park that day to assist, I took the unique opportunity to venture out from the Visitor Center, and drive around photographing and filming the beautiful scenery.  I put my images together into a film, and posted it to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.

I hope you enjoy it!

Also, check out another film I put together last year in which I drove a portion of Antietam's Auto Tour route.

"The road to Pennsylvania lies invitingly open"

In the late summer of 1862, after a string of impressive successes against the Union armies in the East, General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were riding a large wave of momentum and high morale.  Lee decided that it was, "...the most propitious time since the commencement of the war to enter Maryland."  One of Lee's objectives for commencing the Maryland Campaign, and moving northward, was to relocate the seat of war out of Northern Virginia, and allow that region, which saw nearly constant fighting and occupation for more than a year, a chance to recuperate.  After widespread loss and destruction of agriculture and private property, the region could no longer support his hungry army.    

The Confederate population was also feeling the rejuvenating momentum gained by Lee's army.  They believed strongly in the invincibility of their Southern legions, and understandably so.  Throughout most of the summer they had read colorful newspaper accounts of the withdrawal of Gen. George McClellan's army from the outskirts of Richmond, and of the thrashing of Gen. John Pope's force at 2nd Bull Run.  The citizens also began to express a growing anger and resentment toward the North, specifically toward Pope's treatment of Confederate civilians and their property.  For many in Virginia, these feelings, coupled with Lee's push into Northern territory, had grown into a fevered demand for ruthless retaliation.  This can be plainly seen in the following editorial, which was printed in the Richmond Dispatch on September 17, 1862. 

"The road to Pennsylvania lies invitingly open.  There are no regular soldiers on the route, and it would be a task of little difficulty to disperse the rabble of [Emergency] militia that might be brought to oppose them.

The country is enormously rich.  It abounds in fat cattle, cereals, horses, and mules.  Our troops would live on the very fat of the land.  They would find an opportunity, moreover, to teach the Dutch farmers and graziers, who have been clamorous for this war, what invasion really is.  If once compelled to take his own physic, which is a great deal more than he ever bargained for, Mynheer will cry aloud for peace in a very short time.  For our own part, we trust the first proclamation of Pope, and the manner in which his army carried it out, will not be forgotten.  We hope the troops will turn the whole country into a desert, as the Yankees did the Piedmont country of Virginia.

Let not a blade of grass, or a stalk of corn, or a barrel of flour, or a bushel of meal, or a sack of salt, or a horse, or a cow, or a hog, or a sheep, be left wherever they move along.  Let vengeance be taken for all that has been done, until retribution itself shall stand aghast.  This is the country of the smooth-spoken, would-be gentleman McClellan.  He caused a loss to us, in Virginia, of at least thirty thousand negroes, the most valuable property that a Virginian can own.  They have no negroes in Pennsylvania.  Retaliation must therefore fall upon something else, and let it fall upon every thing that constitutes property.  A Dutch farmer has no negroes, but he has horses that can be seized, grain that can be confiscated, cattle that can be killed, and housed that can be burnt.  He can be taken prisoner and sent to Libby's Warehouse, as our friends in Fauquier and Loudon, Culpeper, and the peninsula have been sent to Lincoln's dungeons in the North.  Let retaliation be complete, that the Yankees may learn that two can play at the game they have themselves commenced. 

By advancing into Pennsylvania with rapidity, our army can easily get possesion of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, and break it down so thoroughly that it cannot be repaired in six months.  They have already possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the York River Railroad.  By breaking down these and the railroad from Philadelphia to Baltimore, they will completely isolate both Washington and Baltimore.  No reenforcements can reach them from either North or West, except by the Potomac and the bay."

Although it was printed on the same day that Lee's campaign reached a dramatic climax at the terrible Battle of Antietam, the article's frightful tone and description of a potential Rebel invasion of Pennsylvania does allow us to understand the fear and anxiety that must have been felt by the citizens of the Keystone state during the Emergency.  What they feared in Pennsylvania was what many in the South were hoping for.  Whether or not Lee ever anticipated invading as far north as Pennsylvania, by September 19, the Rebel army had retreated back across the Potomac River and into Virginia.  The campaign was over.

[It is also worthwhile to point out that the war was not just being played out in Southern newspapers.  On September 13, 1862, the Shippensburg News, in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley, had just as harsh words when it printed, "The rebel who hopes to have an easy conquest of this valley will in due time wake up to a 'welcome with bloody hands to hospital graves'.  A free people thus aroused - fighting upon their own soil - for their own firesides, for their own alters, for their freedom, and for truth and rights, will put to flight the ruthless invader and send to their last account the slave minions who fight for death of human freedom and the perpetuity of human slavery."]

sources:
Harsh, Joseph L., Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1999.

Moore, Frank, ed. The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. Vol. 5, New York: G. P. Putnam, 1863.

Shippensburg News, September 13, 1862