HISTORY

The Native American names Conococheague and Tayamentasachta are clear indications of the first inhabitants of what we now know as the Greencastle-Antrim community. Just as telling are the names Greencastle and Antrim to the origin of the Scotch-Irish settlers who first made their home in this area of Pennsylvania.

Villages of Shawnee and Seneca tribes of the Iroquois lived in this area before Scotch-Irish settlers came to what was first called the Conococheague Settlement. The settlement is dated at 1736. German settlers followed close behind the Scotch-Irish. The Cumberland Valley was a fertile and green area for the farmers who carved out a spot in the land. Religion came with the settlers with the first church at Moss Spring, a Presbyterian congregation, founded in 1738 just northeast of the current Greencastle. Antrim was originally a county formed in 1741 and included most of what we know now as Franklin County.

Indian warfare plagued the area in the middle of the 1700s. There were two forts, Fort Allison and Fort Stauffer, built as fortification against attacks. Among the notable events of the period was the Enoch Brown Massacre in which Brown, the school teacher, and 10 of his pupils were clubbed to death and scalped at their school in the northwest part of Antrim Township. A park exists today at the location of the 1764 massacre.

From the hands of William Penn there were four owners of the land where the Borough of Greencastle is located before William Allison transferred ownership to his son Col. John Allison in 1769. Allison laid out lots and founded Greencastle in 1782. It is thought to be named for a fishing station in Donegal County of Northern Ireland. A reported visit from President George Washington in 1794 is one of the early claims to fame of the town. Greencastle was part of Antrim Township until 1805, when the borough was incorporated.

Agriculture ruled life in Greencastle-Antrim for the first half of the 19th century. Grist mills were prevalent during the time, along with distilleries. Financial and unsuccessful attempts to bring local people into the fold led to the end of a Mormon Colony west of Greencastle in the 1840s. While the dream of a settlement failed, the Mormons left a legacy in the area by bringing the first printing press to the community and starting the Conococheague Herald newspaper.

The Civil War left its mark on the Greencastle-Antrim community. Families lost loved ones and lives were changed forever. Abolitionist John Brown stayed at the Union Hotel on the southwest corner of Center Square while planning his raid on Harpers Ferry. The first Union soldier to die on Union soil was killed just north of Greencastle. A monument to Cpl. William H. Rihl stands at the spot where he died. Greencastle teen Dolly Harris waved the stars and stripes in defiance and in the face of the marching Confederate soldiers. Union Capt. Ulric Dahlgren led a surprise attack on Confederate cavalrymen on the square, stopping the march and intercepting important information concerning a coming battle — at Gettysburg.

Industry began to join agriculture as a stalwart of the Greencastle-Antrim community after the Civil War. Manufacturing ranged from grain drills and walnut gun stocks to wind engines. The era brought the erection of the iconic Town Clock in 1872 on the roof of the then-First National Bank, and the first public secondary education in the community. Social life continued to revolve around churches and extended to fraternal groups and included the construction of the Town Hall in 1890.

As the century changed, electric service arrived and civic life picked up steam in the Greencastle-Antrim community and one of the most unique events here or anywhere was born. Greencastle native Professor Philip Baer, renowned opera singer, founded what is celebrated every three years as Old Home Week. The next week-long, community-wide homecoming celebration is in 2022 — the 41st such event. Trolley service and a new passenger train station ushered in the 1900s. Education saw the consolidation era with

One hundred and seventy years after it was built, drivers lined up for a chance to cross Martin’s Mill Bridge during Old Home Week in 2019.

the closing of one-room schools. A new reservoir was built. Automobiles arrived and the first airplane was seen. The Geiser Co. led a healthy industrial base. The Jerome R. King Playground was dedicated in 1923. Prosperity reigned, spurring the social and recreational life of the community.

The Depression and World Wars had a lasting impression on the Greencastle-Antrim community. American Legion Post 373 was established in memory of Frank L. Carbaugh, killed in World War I. There were war bond sales and community drives for all sorts of items that could help a nation at war. The Greencastle Lions Club was founded in 1944. The Harry D. Zeigler Post 6319 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars came in 1946, named for the Greencastle sailor who lost his life in the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea.

Population and industry boomed following the wars. King Playground and the Teen Age Canteen were hot spots. The manufacture of Grove farm wagons that began in 1946 is now a worldwide interest in crane manufacturing known as Manitowoc in Shady Grove, a major local industry and employer. The construction of Corning Glass, now World Kitchen, south of Greencastle in 1960 was just one of the industries and fueled the boom. Along with that came new people into the area and the need for more schools. Social and recreational activities were heightened. The first major effort to preserve Martin’s Mill Bridge, built in 1849, was successful in 1962, with similar preservations and restorations over the decades ensuring it remains a local landmark for future generations. The John L. Grove Medical Center was built in 1966 and the WellSpan Greencastle Health Center opened in 2019.

Technology began to make its mark in the last third of the 1900s. Industry changed and agriculture is now undertaken by fewer people in the Greencastle-Antrim community. A service economy has emerged and the proximity to Interstate 81 fueled warehouses and distribution centers.

The first decade of the 21st century brought a renewed sense of patriotism following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. People in Greencastle and Antrim Township were close enough to New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville to be personally affected and offended

A monument stands at Enoch Brown Park in Antrim Township, site of the 1764 massacre of Brown, the schoolmaster, and 10 of his students.

by the actions of the terrorists. Local citizens were among those deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq in the ensuing years. Master Sgt. Benjamin Bitner of Greencastle was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. An obelisk erected in 1989 and the Veterans Memorial erected outside Greencastle Borough Hall in 2008 honor the 121 men from the community who have given their lives for their country from the Revolutionary War through Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The newest way to honor military service and sacrifice are the Hometown Hero banners, a combined effort of Harry D. Zeigler VFW Post 6319, Frank L.Carbaugh American Legion Post 373

Service and sacrifice are honored with the Hometown Hero banners lining Greencastle streets.

and the Greencastle-Antrim Chamber of Commerce with the support of the Borough of Greencastle. Unveiled in 2020, there are now nearly 240 banners around Center Square and on Allison, Baltimore, Carlisle, Leitersburg and Washington streets and Ridge Avenue. Eras of service include World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Cold War, Global War on Terror and peacetime.

Residential development exploded in the early 2000s and, with its easy access to Interstate 81, Antrim Township is booming as a warehouse, transportation and logistics hub.

Despite time’s passage, many things about this community, first known as the Conococheague Settlement, remain the same. The community remains vibrant. Storefronts don’t stay vacant for long. Children excel in academics, extracurricular activities and athletics. Longstanding traditions continue to draw people together — Sidewalk Days and Heritage Christmas, as well as Old Home Week.

And the people of Greencastle-Antrim continue to cooperate, face challenges and care for one another — qualities that have served this neck of Penn’s Wood well for more than three centuries. g