First Home of Seminary and College (1813) - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.705 W 077° 13.981
18S E 308905 N 4411099
This house was built to support the Gettysburg Academy @ the beginning of the 19th century, Since then, various institutions have used the house for a wide variety of purposes until the 1880's when the house became a private residence.
Waymark Code: WM9X5F
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/09/2010
Views: 7
There is a plaque attached to a big rock, near the sidewalk, in front erected by Gettysburg College in 1982. The marker reads:
Built 1813-1814
For Gettysburg Academy
Lutheran Theological Seminary
1826-1832
Gettysburg College
1832-1837
Plaque erected 1982 by Gettysburg College
There is also an interpretive out front as well, next to the rock. This reads:
The students of Rebecca Eyster's Young Ladies Seminary were studying in this "old Academy Building" on June 26, 1863. One of those students, Tillie Pierce, described the arrival of the Confederate troops from Seminary Ridge in her book, At Gettysburg: What A Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle. Mrs. Eyster immediately called her students to the front porch to see this 'event,' and told them, "Children, run home as quickly as you can." It did not require repeating.
During the Battle, the building was used as a hospital. Tillie further recalled seeing, "Within those same walls...the wounded and dying heroes...." Neighbors reported that Mrs. Eyster witnessed the skirmishing in the street and was probably frightened when a Confederate shell struck the second story of her school.
Since the 1880's, the Academy building has remained a private residence.
The structure at 66 West High Street has been the home to multiple Gettysburg educational institutions. The large brick building located at the souteast corner of East High and Washington Streets has been the home of various educational institutions. The Gettysburg Academy operated in the building from 1813 until 1829. The Lutheran Theological Seminary used this building from 1826 until 1832. The Gettysburg Gymnasium, a preparatory school for the Theological Seminary, educated students here beginning in 1827. In 1832 the Gymnasium became Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College. The College remained in this building until 1837 when it moved into Pennsylvania Hall on its new campus. From 1837 to 1856 this structure was used as a school by various teachers. From 1856-1871 it was run by the Reverend David Eyster, and later his wife Rebecca, as the Gettysburg Female Institute. The structure has been a private residence since the 1880s, and has an artillery projectile embedded in its north wall from the Civil War.
Like many buildings in the town, this house was used as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg. There is also a cannon ball still lodged in the wall of the home. When looking at the picture gallery, count three windows from the right (upper floor). The black spot to the left of that third window is an artillery shell sticking in the wall. It is right next to the shutter, on the upper left of it.