Vintage Gas Pump (Replica) & Lincoln Highway Interpretive - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 50.113 W 077° 14.748
18S E 307830 N 4411881
Very cool vintage gas pump, painted with a Civil War motif is accompanied by a Lincoln Highway Interpretive. The pump is along the highway in front of Larson's Quality Inn.
Waymark Code: WMBNEG
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 06/05/2011
Views: 3
This area is in front of the General Lee's headquarters along the Lincoln Highway. A plaque at the base of the pump reads "Gettysburg Square and Monuments" By Carol Miller. This Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor project was funded in part by the Department of Conversation and Natural Resources, a Federal Transportation Enhancement Award, and Heritage Works in Westsylvania..
The vintage is painted with bright colors. There are portraits painted of Civil War officers (Union side I think). One is of Lt. Col. Rufus R. Dawes 6th Wisconsin. A confederate soldier is on the side. The top part of the pump has one of those circular, bubble sign holders, only this one is painted over with a profiled portrait of Lincoln. There are many of these gas pumps along the Lincoln Highway route. The interpretive next to it reads:
Gen. Robert E. Lee and his staff planned one of America's greatest battles at this point. Almost a century later the site began offering overnight accommodations to travelers coming to pay homage to their heros.
Gutted by fire in 1896, the rebuilt house (owned by Clyde F. Daley), was converted to a souvenir shop and museum. Next door to "Lee's Headquarters," the home (owned by Eric and Saral Larson) was converted to a tourist home.
With the increased visitation to Gettysburg, especially for the 75th Anniversary and Reunion in 1938, Daley and the Larson's constructed cottages, two of many tourist camps that sprung up along the Lincoln Highway. Lee's Headquarters camp offered seven cabins. Each had a bath, showers, steam heat, and beds with innerspring mattresses for $1 to $4 a night.
In 1945, the Larsons purchased Lee's Headquarters property from Daley and over the years made numerous improvements. The resulting motel eventually became affiliated with the Quality Inn.