GETTYSBURG, Pa. — The Gettysburg Foundation on Tuesday announced that the historic Lincoln Railroad Station has been established as a new Civil War Trails site.
Owned and operated by the Foundation, the railroad station is the first of two Civil War Trails sites established in downtown Gettysburg - officially adding the Adams County borough to the multi-state program.
The second site is the historic Shriver House Museum, located at 309 Baltimore Street, the Foundation said.
Although there are more than 1,400 Civil War Trails sites across the nation, downtown Gettysburg did not have a stop along the Trail until Tuesday, when the Lincoln Station and the Shriver House Museum were officially added, according to the Foundation.
The installation and the expansion of the program coincides with the upcoming 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, according to the Foundation.
“The Gettysburg Foundation is pleased to join and partner with the Civil War Trails program in recognizing the national significance of the historic Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station,” said Gettysburg Foundation president and CEO Wayne E. Motts. “The addition of a Civil War Trails wayside at this location not only places the station in a national program for those following Civil War history in our area, but it will also attract visitors to the borough for a more in-depth look at the Civil War history in downtown Gettysburg."
The Civil War Trails sign installed on the sidewalk in front of the station, located at 35 Carlisle St., helps travelers stand in the footsteps of the Union surgeons who worked on and near these grounds, historical figures associated with the station in 1863 and President Abraham Lincoln, who stepped off a train there on his way to deliver his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the national cemetery in November 1863.
“We are excited to share the stories of these historic locations with our visitors," said Destination Gettysburg president and CEO Karl Pietrzak. "From the spot that President Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg on his visit to deliver the most famous speech in American history, to a compelling story of the impact of the Battle of Gettysburg on the town’s civilians, these additions to the Civil War Trails journey will help visitors to Gettysburg connect with the historic events that happened here.”
