John Abbott House - Abbottstown, PA
N 39° 53.251 W 076° 58.900
18S E 330562 N 4417152
Since 1986 the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Organization has been marking homes with historic plaques to designate their importance to the county and their immediate community. This was the first house to receive such an honor.
Waymark Code: WMCZCJ
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2011
Views: 8
All up and down the Lincoln Highway Corridor, from York to Gettysburg and everywhere in between, this non-profit organization has made ernest efforts to preserve local history and recognize those who do so. Such is the case with this house, it being the first to receive such merit.
The historical marker attached to the front right of the house. The marker was placed by the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County, a non-profit organization formed in 1975 to spearhead and coordinate efforts to preserve and restore the historic heritage of Adams County's townships and boroughs. They have markers all up and down the Lincoln Highway within Adams County. Anyway, the Mrs. of the house told me to look closely and I saw a small number 1 after the year 1986 (when it was put up on the house). She explained to me the number 1 is a designation for this house being the first house to have even been recognized by the historical organization, distinguished by the marker bearing the number 1.
Another stop on the Lincoln Highway and another piece of history and an NRHP site, too!
I had an opportunity to meet with the owners of the house who are the current mayor of Abbottstown (him) and the president of the town council (her). They operate an antique shop out of their home, which is situated just before the town rotary (center of town) along the Lincoln Highway. The Mrs. told me some spooky stories of ghosts and suicide (that by the home owner's son) and a death of a chambermaid inside the house. The 23 year old son of John Abbot hung himself and his remains are just down the street.
On the left side of the house is a neat well, covered with a metal grate so as to not let anyone fall in and drown. it used to be inside the house but the floor boards were lifted up, the wall removed and the house was brought in and now the well lies outside. The front and sides are of field stone and timber with a stone foundation. The house is well preserved and is brown with blue shutters. The current owners told me about an older lady, now deceased, in a wheelchair who sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into this home in efforts to restore it. It was her hobby.
A tavern was run out of this home in the mid 18th century, pre-Revolutionary War. In case you haven't made the connection, John Abbot is one of the original settlers and founder of this town in 1753. This house was built approximately 1737, making it one of the oldest homes in a town of 400 homes and 1,100 people. The house is situated on the Lincoln Highway, the main thoroughfare and sentential of history for most small towns like Abbottstown who have prospered in its wake.
The award marker reads:
Historic Gettysburg
JOHN ABBOTT HOUSE
1737
Adams County
Honored 1986