Full Day Self-guided Tour: Carlisle & Shippensburg

Carlisle

Carlisle was designated a Preserve America Community in 2004.

Carlisle, the quintessential small American town, is nestled between the beautiful North and South Mountains. Church spires and the cupola of the Old Court House peek out over the trees on the approach to town, and vintage lamp posts hung with colorful baskets of flowers line the streets leading to the Square. Carlisle offers just about everything a visitor could want in a trip.

If you like architecture, you will enjoy Carlisle’s historic district featuring hundreds of buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. If you like history, you can visit the grave of Molly Pitcher, the church where President George Washington worshiped in 1794, and see the scars on the columns of the Old Court House, remnants of the Confederate shelling of Carlisle in 1863.

At the west end of town, stroll the scenic grounds of Dickinson College chartered in 1783, or tour Carlisle Barracks, founded in 1757, at the east end of town. There, you can visit the Powder Museum built in 1777 by Hessian prisoners and walk the grounds of the Carlisle Indian School where Jim Thorpe played football.

Thriving since before the Revolutionary War, Carlisle preserves the look and feel of a centuries-old town with a dash of the 1950s thrown in. The giant frozen custard sign atop Massey’s, the neon lights of Carlisle Theatre, and the nationally-known car shows are a welcome reminder of that era.

Dining in Carlisle is a pleasure. Locally owned restaurants abound. You can eat in an Art Deco firehouse, or in an 1846 mansion. You can choose from five-course gourmet feasts to pub grub and pints of locally brewed ale at Carlisle’s own downtown English pub.

Everyone likes to shop, so before you leave town you may want to load up your trunk with purchases from some of the antique shops, specialty shops, and used book stores in town.

Begin the day in Carlisle with a hearty breakfast at Fay’s Country Kitchen on the corner of S. Hanover and South Sts. Tip: They specialize in hot cakes and omelets.

Things to see in Carlisle:

• Grave and statue of Molly Pitcher in the Old Graveyard (E. South St.)
• View historic buildings and markers on the Square and tour the historic district (The first two blocks from the Square in each direction are the limits of the original town).
• Cumberland County Historical Society 21 N. Pitt St. Museum, Library, Photo Archive, and gift shop.
• Union Fire Co. Museum 35 W. Louther St.
• Dickinson College Campus including “Old West” built in 1803 and Trout Gallery located in the Weiss Center for the Arts, W. High St.
• Carlisle Barracks (about 1 mile from the Square) present home of the U. S. Army War College, General Omar Bradley Museum, Hessian Powder Magazine, and buildings of the Carlisle Indian School

Places to shop in Carlisle:

• Antique shops on N. Hanover St., W. Pomfret St. and the Fire Station at 636 N. West St.
• Used book stores on W. High & E. Pomfret St.
• Specialty gift and clothing shops throughout town

Places to eat lunch in Carlisle:

• California Café is a favorite with locals and is housed in the Art Deco Empire Hook and Ladder Co. at 38 W. Pomfret St. Tip: They are known for their sourdough rolls.
• Market Cross Pub at 113 N. Hanover St. serves traditional English pub grub and locally brewed ales.
• Hamilton Restaurant on the corner of W. High and Pitt St. was a perennial favorite with the Washington Redskins when they had training camp here. Tip: They are famous for their “hotchee” dogs.
• Salamandra at 109 N. Hanover St. features wood-fired brick oven pizzas and other fare.

From W. High Street turn Left onto College Street. Travel 6 blocks to stop sign at T in road. Do not make a hard Right turn (Washington Lane) but turn Right onto Walnut Bottom Road (Rt. 465) You will travel 19.4 miles on Walnut Bottom Road to Shippensburg.

The trip to Shippensburg is along the scenic Walnut Bottom Road where undulating hills dotted with picturesque farms and villages will delight your eye.

Because the Walnut Bottom Road was toll-free, it was heavily traveled by waggoners and drovers taking their herds and goods to Philadelphia markets. There was so much traffic on this road that, by 1825, there were 15 taverns on this 19-mile stretch between Carlisle and Shippensburg.

Note the following taverns and villages along the Walnut Bottom Road:

• 6.7 miles - Stone Tavern
  at Mooredale. Here the Walnut Bottom Road becomes Rt. 174 W. Stone Tavern, also known as Cumberland Hall, (Right side) was built in 1788 by James Moore and was the most famous and elegant tavern on this road.
• 9 miles- Centerville, a village half way between Carlisle and Shippensburg, was the traditional stopping point for waggoners, drovers, and travelers. As you drive through the village, take note of three old taverns that are now private houses: The cream stucco house at 1879 Walnut Bottom Rd. (Right side) was the Sign of the Plow and Sheaf of Wheat kept by Benjamin Smith from 1803-1833. A descendant of his still lives in the house. The brick house set back from the road at 1805 Walnut Bottom Road ( Right side) was called the Brick Tavern at Sporting Hill and operated from 1818-1839. The brick house sitting on the hill at the edge of town (Right side) was named the Brick Tavern on Silver Hill. It was built c. 1824 and has eight fireplaces, each with a different mantel design.
• 14.0 miles- The brick house on the right side of the road, once known as Park’s Hotel, was built c. 1855 to replace Brewster’s log tavern.
• 17.2 miles Meadowlands Mall (Right side). You will enjoy a visit to the Beistle Co. outlet at Meadowlark Party Shoppe. Beistle is the world’s largest maker of paper party goods. The Walking Quail, a sporting goods store, is also in the Mall.

Continue on Walnut Bottom Rd. past ramps to I-81, past K-Mart on left to traffic light (19.4 miles) at the junction of Rt. 11. Turn Left onto Rt. 11, which becomes King St., the main street though Shippensburg.

Shippensburg

Shippensburg, like Carlisle, was settled in the 18th century, but it has a very different look and feel. While Carlisle radiates out from the square, Shippensburg was developed along a mile-long stretch of road.

Wide streets and buildings of many different architectural styles greet the visitor. Locally owned stores offer everything from homemade candy and gourmet coffees to clothing, jewelry, and country crafts. A stop at the outlet store of Beistle Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of party goods, will delight and amuse.

End the day with a drive past the fountain in front of Old Main on the campus of Shippensburg University, and then stay for dinner.

Things to see in Shippensburg:

• Widow Piper’s Tavern/Old Court House and Historical Marker corner of King & Queen Sts. (Open infrequently)
• Shippensburg Historical Society housed in 18th C. stone house at 52 W. King St.
  (Open W & S 1-4)
• Shippensburg Public Library, 73 W. King St., is on the spot where Capt. William Rippey kept his well-known tavern in the 18th century. There are still several 18th C. stone houses standing a little to the west of this hub of 18th C. Shippensburg.
• Historical Marker about the 1755 Braddock Expedition
• “Old Main” at Shippensburg University
• Fashion Archives in Harley Hall at Shippensburg University preserves and exhibits clothing from several centuries.

Places to shop in Shippensburg:

• Lollipop Shop 112 E. King St . Homemade candies and fudge
• All the Kings Books 29 E. King St . Large selection of used books
• Edward's Mercantile 20 E. King St. Charming shop with coffees, gourmet gifts, and food
• East Meets West Emporium 10 E. King St . Quality shop with clothing, handmade jewelry, and gifts

• Shippen Place Hotel Black Horse Tavern Restaurant , 32 E. King St.
• Select Family Restaurant, 2 W. King St.
• King’s Men Restaurant, 105 W. King St.