Lutheran Theological Seminary - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.901 W 077° 14.673
18S E 307927 N 4411486
This Seminary is very old, founded in 1826 according to the several old signs scattered about the campus. The institution and its sprawling acres and its old brick buildings are best known for their participation in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Waymark Code: WMEP8K
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 06/22/2012
Views: 6
In 1826 the Lutheran Theological Seminary was founded here, and in 1832 Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College, was chartered. These institutions felt the brunt of the first day's fighting between the Confederate right wing and the Union left, when Meade's advance columns were sent reeling back through the town to Cemetery Hill.. --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940; page 228
Many of the buildings at this seminary are part of the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District, unfortunately the contributing structures list and narrative have not been digitized so it is hard to say what contributes and what does not. I visited every building on campus and I know for sure at least four of the buildings contribute to the historical district as they have the Civil War Building bronze marker on the front of the entrance. Also, some of the other buildings have their own reference on Wikipedia, like Schmucker Hall, and are referred to as contributing structures. Park rangers and folks at the visitors center told me the bronze markers indicate a structure's contributing status to the historic district.
Besides the buildings, there are also monuments, tablets and cannons to view. The main run across campus is called Seminary Ridge, part of West Confederate Avenue. This is along the battle lines that formed here on July 2, 1863 when the Confederates squared off here against the Union forces, massed almost 3/4 of a mile away along Cemetery Ridge. Looking on GoogleEarth, this site marks the point furthest north of the Confederate artillery lines. Suffice to say there is lots to see here and a visit should take up to 40 minutes if you take the time to see everything. There are lots to park safely so I would recommend NOT parking among the streets. Even at 10 in the morning in March, it was busy so take care to get out of the way.
and now a word from our sponsor:
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg is a postgraduate education institution and an American Civil War site of 1863 Battle of Gettysburg military engagements, including the "last stand of the Union 1st Corps on Seminary Ridge." The school is the 2nd oldest U.S. Lutheran seminary (cf. 1797 Hartwick Lutheran seminary & 1791 St Mary's catholic seminary) and includes Gettysburg Battlefield monuments and cannon, a Martin Luther memorial, and a memorial garden (battle interments were moved to the Gettysburg National and southern cemeteries)