Many barns, farmsteads and associated outbuildings played important rolls during the Battle of Gettysburg both for the Union soldiers and for the Confederates as well. This farmstead has remained mostly unchanged except for some minor cosmetic differences on the outside of the farmhouse.
The barn (1868) was constructed on the site of the battle-era barn, which was destroyed during the course of the battle. It had been used as a shelter for wounded Union soldiers, many of whom died in the ensuing fire that consumed the barn. Although the style of the barn has changed since the battle from an English barn to a bank barn, its occupation of the historic barn site conveys the character of a building that served successively as cover and obstacle for both armies. The barn s a contributing structure to the Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District.
The homeowners were ordered away from the farm on the morning of the 2nd, driving their stock southeast of the Round Tops and to Two Taverns. Joseph and his son returned on the 6th to find their house ransacked and hit by at least seven artillery shells. Their yard was covered with their posessions, which were trampled into the mud and mixed with blood, body parts and every imaginable kind of filth. The orchards and fences were destroyed and the fields covered with dead men and 48 dead horses. The ruins of the barn were filled with the charred remains of the men who had been unable to escape the fire.
One soldier from the 77th New York Infantry whoa observed it wrote, “As we passed the scene of conflict on the left was a scene more than unusually hideous. Blackened remains marked the spot where, on the morning of the 3rd, stood a large barn. It had been used as a hospital. It had taken fire from the shells of the hostile batteries, and had quickly burned to the ground. Those of the wounded not able to help themselves were destroyed by the flames, which in a moment spread through the straw and dry material of the building. The crisped and blackened limbs, heads and other portions of bodies lying half consumed among the heaps of ruins and ashes made up one of the most ghastly pictures ever witnessed, even on the field of war.”
The Sherfys cleaned, replanted, and rebuilt, and for years sold peaches from the famous orchard. It was a popular destination for the men who had fought in its fields, and one wall of the house was reportedly covered by photographs of veterans who had fought there. The farm today is owned by the National Park Service and the house is rented out.
There is an ID tablet in front of a wrought iron fence, marking the house. The barn is located on Emmitsburg Road near the intersection with the Wheatfield/Millerstown Road. The famous Peach Orchard is across the street, owned by Mr. Sherfy. The house is owned by the NPS but used by the Gettysburg Foundation as a private building. The barn is used for park maintenance equipment. The barn is way to the left of the house and much closer to the road. The house was built in 1840 and completed in 1860. The original barn dates to 1850 and was reconstructed in 1868.
The Joseph Sherfy Farm Barn is a contributing feature to the Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District which is nationally significant under NR Criteria A, B, C & D. Areas of Significance: Military, Politics/Government, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Archeology-Historic. Period of Significance: 1863-1938. The original National Register Nomination was approved by the Keeper March 19, 1975. An update to this nomination was approved by the Keeper on January 23, 2004. This roadside marker is listed as contributing structure number 172.
From the NRHP narrative:
Short Physical Description:
2 story frame Pennsylvannia bank barn, 53'6"x40'5", 33'11" high. Wagon shed lean-to addition to W, 18'3"x28'3", 16'6" high. Vertical board & batten siding. Gable roof. Earth bank on N, forebay faces S. Gable ends E & W.
My Sources
1.
Draw the Sword
2.
Stone Sentinels
3.
NRHP Narrative