| Gettysburg eponym: James Gettys |
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| — Borough — | |
| ]The 1906 Beaux-Arts architecture (left) on the borough's Lincoln Square[1] was the First National Bank building used as a WWII spotter post for aircraft[2] and became the Adams County National Bank after the 1962 merger with the Littlestown State Bank and Trust Company.[3] | |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Adams |
| Settled | 1780 |
| Incorporated | 1806 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough Council |
| • Mayor | William Troxell[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.3 sq mi (11.1 km2) |
| • Land | 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 558 ft (170 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 7,620 |
| • Density | 4,562.3/sq mi (1,761.5/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Zip code | 17325 |
| Area code(s) | 717 |
| Website | Borough of Gettysburg |
Gettysburg is a borough in and the county seat of Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and Harrisburg Area Community College.
Many roads radiate from Gettysburg, providing hub-like access to Washington, D.C. 75 miles (121 km), Baltimore 55 miles (89 km), Harrisburg 37 miles (60 km), Carlisle 27 miles (43 km), Frederick and Hagerstown, Maryland 32 miles (51 km) and Hanover, Pennsylvania 14 miles (23 km). York is 30 miles (48 km) east on the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) and Chambersburg is 25 miles (40 km) west on the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30), the first transcontinental U.S. highway. Today the borough is a 2½ hour drive from Philadelphia and a 3½ hour drive from Pittsburgh via the Pennsylvania Turnpike and U.S. Route 15. Gettysburg Regional Airport, a small general aviation airport, is located 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Gettysburg.
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Samuel Gettys settled on the Shippensburg - Baltimore and Philadelphia - Pittsburgh cross roads with a 1761 tavern where soldiers and traders came to rest, and to the southwest is the 1776 Dobbin House Tavern within the subsequent 1786 border established for the borough. After a "Strabane" [sic] township location between "Hunter's and Getty's [sic] towns" was planned as the county seat in 1790, in 1791 "Revd. Alexander Dobbin and David Moore, senior, were appointed trustees for the county of Adams [to erect] public buildings in…Gettysburg".[3]:520 The founder of the Studebaker Corporation was born 1833 in Gettysburg.
In 1858 the Gettysburg Railroad completed construction of a railroad line from Gettysburg to Hanover. The Gettysburg Railroad Station opened in 1859. Passenger train service to the city ended in 1942. The station was restored in 2006 and is used as the Gettysburg railroad museum.
By 1860, the borough "had ~450 buildings [which] housed carriage manufacturing, shoemakers, and tanneries".[4]
In June 2009, the Adams County Transit Authority implemented local transportation service to the borough operating under the name Freedom Transit[5] In June 2011, a Rabbit Transit commuter bus to Harrisburg began service.[6]
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 7,490 people, 2,541 households, and 1,229 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of the borough was 85.46% White, 5.79% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.67% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. 8.02% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,541 households out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.6% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the borough the population was spread out with 16.2% under the age of 18, 36.2% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
Median incomes for the borough were $40,489 (family) & $29,840 (household), $30,341 (males) & $21,111 (females), and $14,157 (per capita). About 13.2% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 17 and 5.2% of those age 77 or over.
Gettysburg has a humid continental climate with hot, humid summers and cool winters. On average, January is the coldest month, July is the warmest month, and June is the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Gettysburg was 104 °F (40 °C) in 1988; the coldest temperature recorded was -25 °F (-32 °C) in 1994.[8]
| Climate data for Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 72 (22) |
78 (26) |
87 (31) |
93 (34) |
93 (34) |
98 (37) |
104 (40) |
104 (40) |
98 (37) |
92 (33) |
83 (28) |
79 (26) |
104 (40) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 39 (4) |
42 (6) |
52 (11) |
62 (17) |
72 (22) |
81 (27) |
86 (30) |
85 (29) |
78 (26) |
67 (19) |
55 (13) |
45 (7) |
63.7 (17.6) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 19 (−7) |
21 (−6) |
30 (−1) |
39 (4) |
49 (9) |
57 (14) |
63 (17) |
60 (16) |
53 (12) |
41 (5) |
32 (0) |
24 (−4) |
40.7 (4.8) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −25 (−32) |
−14 (−26) |
0 (−18) |
16 (−9) |
27 (−3) |
35 (2) |
43 (6) |
35 (2) |
31 (−1) |
20 (−7) |
12 (−11) |
−5 (−21) |
−25 (−32) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 3.22 (81.8) |
2.73 (69.3) |
3.53 (89.7) |
3.47 (88.1) |
4.31 (109.5) |
4.59 (116.6) |
3.45 (87.6) |
3.49 (88.6) |
4.25 (108) |
3.08 (78.2) |
3.59 (91.2) |
3.22 (81.8) |
42.93 (1,090.4) |
| Source: The Weather Channel;[8] | |||||||||||||
The main industry of the borough is tourism associated with historic sites such as the Gettysburg National Military Park (including the Gettysburg National Cemetery) and the Eisenhower National Historic Site. Gettysburg has many activities and tours to offer to vacationers and tourists that are interested in the Gettysburg area and the history of the community and the battle. Tourist for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg use the borough facilities, which include the Dobbin House Tavern and Gettysburg Hotel.
The Gettysburg College, the Harrisburg Area Community College, and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg employ thousands of people in the borough.
The main east-west road through downtown Gettysburg is U.S. Route 30, which is known as York Street east of Lincoln Square and Chambersburg Street west of Lincoln Square.
York Adams Transportation Authority (YATA) operates public transportation in Adams County. Freedom Transit is a local bus system with three routes in the Gettysburg area.[9] The hub of the bus system, New Gettysburg Transit Center, is under construction on Carlisle Street.[10] A Rabbit Transit commuter bus to Harrisburg runs four times each weekday in each direction.[11]
Gettysburg's sister cities are Gettysburg, South Dakota, and since 1987, León, Nicaragua.[12]
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