Round Top is a

populated place Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

in Adams County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, near

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left fla ...

. It is notable for two Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions such as Round Top Park and the

Round Top Museum The Round Top Museum was a Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attraction established by John H. Rosensteel in 1888 on the north foot of Little Round Top near the Round Top Station and northeast of the Wheatfield Road and Grand Central Avenue (now Sedg ...

. The unincorporated community lies on an elevated area of the north-south

Taneytown Road Pennsylvania Route 134 (PA 134), also called Taneytown Road ( ), is a north–south, two-lane state highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania, Adams County, Pennsylvania. It runs from the Maryland border at the Mason–Dixon line in Mount Joy Tow ...

with three intersections: at Blacksmith Shop Road to the northeast,

Wheatfield Road The Wheatfield Road is a Gettysburg Battlefield crossroad from the Peach Orchard east-southeastward along the north side of The Wheatfield (on the Peach Orchard-Devil's Den ridge), north of the Valley of Death, and over the north foot of Little ...

(west from "Roundtop"), and Sachs Road (east from "Sedgwick").

History

After an 1808 proposal, the

was constructed southward from Gettysburg past the east of the Round Tops and by 1858, two crossroads had been built to the area, with three homes (north-to-south: "Geo Bishop", "E. Brickert", & "J. Group") that would become Round Top: Wheatfield Rd on the west across the north foot of Little Round Top to the

Emmitsburg Road Emmitsburg is a town in Frederick County, Maryland, United States, south of the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania. Founded in 1785, Emmitsburg is the home of Mount St. Mary's University. The town has two Catholic pilgrima ...

and Sachs Rd eastward across Rock Creek. In 1884, the

Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad (G. & H. R. R.) was a railway line of Pennsylvania from Hunter's Run southward to Gettysburg in the 19th century. The north junction was with the South Mountain RR, and a crossing with the Hanover Juncti ...

built a steamtrain railroad to the Round Top Station, which operated until when the branch's abandonment application was filed. In 1894 on a different railway from the west, the

Gettysburg Electric Railway The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access1991 Gettysburg Times to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas (e.g., ...

began trolley operations to the station. Sedgwick Post Office After an 1884 refreshment stand opened in a "shanty at the base of Little Round Top", the 1884 house of postmaster Lewis A. Bushman was announced on July 20, 1886, as the location for the Sedgwick Post Office, which opened on August 2. In addition to serving the local area until

Rural Free Delivery Rural Free Delivery (RFD) was a program of the United States Post Office Department that began in the late 19th century to deliver mail directly to rural destinations. Previously, individuals living in remote homesteads had to pick up mail themsel ...

began, the post office was the transfer point for mail southward on the Taneytown Rd to Horner's Mill near Rock Creek and its subsequent 1890 Barlow post office. Bushman offered the Sedgwick Post Office and Store Room tract for sale with a

chopping mill Chopping may refer to: * Comminution, a crushing, grinding or similar size reduction of materials * Cutting * Chopping (sampling technique), a hip-hop sampling method. * Virtual tuning * Chopping (violin) rapid tapping with bow, used in jazz * ...

, peach orchard, and warehouse on July 28, 1891; and S. V. Bushman had the merchant license in 1892 and sold the tract to James F. Rider in 1901. Rider, who near Round Top in 1888 had sold his father's tract of with "lot of fruit and grapes", operated the Sedgwick store through 1915; and Charles C. Rider offered the tract with 8 room house for sale in 1928. The tract was purchased by the Round Top Museum owners in 1965 and was transferred along with the museum to the GNMP in 1971. Round Top School The one-room 1889 Round Top School was where the 1892 township citizens group formed to oppose the

(

cf. The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...

United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. Co.). The school closed in 1948, was sold in 1952, had renovations planned in 1972, and was deemed historically "not significant" in 2004.

Visitor attractions

In addition to the 1884 Round Top Park and 1888 Round Top Museum (Little Round Top Hotel) with the adjacent Rosensteel Park, the community had two additional recreation groves: Dr. Hudson's grove "Dr. Hudson's grove" was a picnic area with a boxing arena and 1898 social hall that was established by veterinarian Edward Hudson. Hudson's new stable at Round Top had burned down in 1897, and in January 1900, a tavern license was refused for Hudson's hotel. On April 25, 1900, the Hudson property with the Hotel Sedgwick and stable was next to the school and offered for sale by the Sheriff; and after being unable to sell the property by July 4, 1900; Hudson leased the grove in 1902 from the

Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railway was a Pennsylvania line from near Carlisle southward to Gettysburg operated by subsidiaryof the Reading Company. The line also included the Round Top Branch over the Gettysburg Battlefield to Round Top, P ...

, and later offered his owned tract with "Store Room" for sale in 1905. Cunningham Grove Cunningham Grove east of Little Round Top was used for picnics as early as July 26, 1879. After the 1904 eminent domain jury for ''United States v. Five Tracts of land'' was formed regarding

Reynolds Grove Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

and a Round Top tract, the "tract of land belonging to Florence and Georgianna Cunningham" (different from the "Round Top Park property of heGettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad") was transferred on September 18, 1905. In 1923, the

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

for the Adams County firemen's convention was held in the woods across from the Rosensteel pavilion with a "barker's alley" that included ten-pin stands, blanket and Kewpie doll wheels, knife and cane stands, and " Hit-the-Coon" games (2,000 cars were parked in 3 fields). The community was the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

for the Round Top hunting and economics clubs, and 20th-century retail businesses at Round Top included the 1904–1960 Epley Blacksmith Shop, the 1916 Round Top Fruit Farm, an early 20th-century automobile dealership (#940 Taneytown Road, site of a 1936 barn fire), the brick McGlaughlin general store (#770), and the 1950–1965 Shorty's Repair Shop on the Wheatfield Rd. A fast food concession built in 1962-3 remains on the southwest corner of the Wheatfield and Taneytown roads (#885), north of which is a 21st-century roadside produce stand (#855).

References

;G. References at the

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google rel ...

Archive: {{authority control One-room schoolhouses in Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Adams County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania