The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Depot
This building, completed in April 1884, served the new Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company, which sought to take advantage of the growing interest in the Gettysburg Battlefield. From here visitors could continue with a 2 1/2 mile tour across the battlefield or on the "Round Top Branch" on the railroad, or employ the services of a battlefield guide, such as "Major" W.D. Holtzworth, a prominent local Union veteran who operated out of the nearby Eagle Hotel on Chambersburg Street.
In its heyday, this railroad was a principal means of transportation to Gettysburg. The Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company merged with the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1891. It continued to transport thousands of veterans and their families to Gettysburg, especially for the 50th and 75th Reunions of the "Blue and Gray" held in 1913 and 1938.
As a result of new highways and the automobile, the Reading Railroad cased passenger service to Gettysburg in 1941.
Marker is at the intersection of North Washington Street and West Railroad Street, on the right when traveling south on North Washington Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
