Pennsylvania Hall ('
Penn Hall
Old Dorm) is the

Gettysburg College Gettysburg College is a private liberal arts college in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1832, the campus is adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg College has about 2,600 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women. ...

central administrative building and the college's oldest building. Designed in 1835 by John Cresson Trautwine, it was built in 1838 as a "temple-style edifice with four columns in the portico". During the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...

in July 1863, Pennsylvania Hall was used as a hospital for wounded troops of the Union and Confederate Armies. The building is also used for the convocation and commencement traditions of entering and departing the college via building.

History

The 1832 "Pennsylvania College of Gettysburg" (now Gettysburg College) initially shared the

Gettysburg Academy Gettysburg Academy (also known as the Classical Preparatory School and the Gettysburg Gymnasium) was an antebellum boys' boarding school for which the vernacular architecture schoolhouse (now "Reuning Hall") was the "first home" of the Lutheran ...

building on High Street with the Gettysburg Theological Seminary. The college purchased from

Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...

for $528, and the hall with four stories and was built with a portico on the south side"The College Hospital: Pennsylvania College and the Battle of Gettysburg," Craig Schneider, Gettysburg College: 2007. and a

The hall was the only academic building until the 1847 Linnæan Hall was dedicated as a museum of Natural History (later becoming the chemistry lab then the 2nd academic gymnasium). ''Note:'' This includes In the early years of its existence, Pennsylvania Hall contained the students' living quarters, as well as several offices and recitation rooms. At the time of the battle of Gettysburg, the building was the largest building in town. The interior of the hall was renovated in 1869-70.

Battle of Gettysburg

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, Union signal officers used the Old Dorm cupola on June 30, 1863. On July 1, Michael Jacobs, the chemistry and mathematics professor at the college led Union officers to the cupola to observe the battlefield. Battle casualties were treated in Pennsylvania Hall through about July 2

and totaled nearly 700—many of whom died in the building and on surrounding property. Soldiers of both armies were treated in Pennsylvania Hall, as control of the College shifted from Union to Confederate forces on the evening of July 1. Nearby burials of Union soldiers were reinterred in the

Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the larges ...

in the autumn and winter, and Confederate burials were reinterred in the southern cemeteries, primarily in

Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia) Hollywood Cemetery is a large, sprawling cemetery located next to Richmond, Virginia's Oregon Hill neighborhood at 412 South Cherry Street. Characterized by rolling hills and winding paths overlooking the James River, it is the resting place of t ...

. Pennsylvania College resumed classes on September 24, 1863. Bullets, bones, human remains and bloody books were found in and around the building for many years after the end of the battle.

Post-war

The Pennsylvania Hall interior was again renovated in 1889 and in 192

and a United States tablet was erected in Old Dorm in 193

(the "white-painted

building" was the "base hospital" for the

1938 Gettysburg reunion The 1938 Gettysburg reunion was an encampment of American Civil War veterans on the Gettysburg Battlefield for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The gathering included approximately 25 veterans of the battle with a further 1,3 ...

.) A structural renovation of Pennsylvania Hall began January, 1969, to maintain the stability of the exterior walls, roof, and cupola with steel columns, girders and 5 concrete reinforced slabs (1 for each floor, including the attic).National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, p.2 During the renovation, numerous artifacts of historical significance were recovered from behind walls and under floors. Pennsylvania Hall was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1972.

Current use

Today, Pennsylvania Hall contains the main administrative offices of

. The offices of the college's president and provost are located in the building, as well as the human resources and financial services departments.

References

External links

Pennsylvania College, Pennsylvania Hall, Gettysburg Borough, Adams, PA
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...