One stop tourist haunt

By Marilyn Loeser

While visiting Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, you’ll want to dine in a historic location, take in a few attractions, do a little shopping, maybe a walking tour in the heart of town and spend a night or two so you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy your stay.

Although Farnsworth House is only one location, it’s like a one-stop-Gettysburg experience. Here you’ll find a restaurant, tavern, guest accommodations, book store and nightly ghost tour. Add to this the fact the original part of the house was built in 1810, followed by the brick structure in 1833 and you’ll be visiting a location whose occupants witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1893 and Abraham Lincoln’s visit four and a half months later when he gave the most famous Presidential speech in history: the Gettysburg Address.

“Our Bed & Breakfast guests enjoy lovely rooms, comfortable beds and a full country breakfast served each morning,” the brochure says. “A stay at the Farnsworth House, lunch in the Tavern, dinner in the Dining Room and a visit to the Bookshop/Art Gallery completes any Civil War enthusiasts visit to Historical Gettysburg.”

And so it was decided, after reading the brochure, that my husband and I would have dinner in the tavern, browse the little shop and join the nightly ghost tour.

The staff is well-versed in its history which made our evening even more enjoyable, entertaining and educational.

The House

A house is more than bricks and mortar. This is certainly true of the Farnsworth House, named in memory of Union Army Brigadier General Elon John Farnsworth, who, along with 65 of his men perished in the battle. 

It was the Sweney family who lived in the house when war found its way to Pennsylvania. Many of the original walls, floors and rafters still remain intact. During the three-day battle, the house sheltered Confederate sharpshooters. It is believed one of the sharpshooters accidentally shot Jennie Wade, the only civilian to die in the battle. 

Guests are able to see the more than 100 bullet holes on the south side of the house.  

The house was purchased by its current owners in 1972, restored to its 1863 appearance and is dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the soldiers who fought on both sides.

Dining

During our visit, the dining room was undergoing a restoration, so we ate in the tavern. But if you’re lucky enough to eat in the main dining room, you’ll be able to view original décor such as photographs by famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady.

During the warmer months, you can enjoy the same menu items in open-air garden alongside a spring-fed stream. This stone lined stream provided a water source for both the Confederate and Union Armies.

The tavern too is a wonderful choice. Civil War re-enactors frequent the bar. It’s been said you may spy a soldier that’s not re-enacting anything and may disappear as fast as he appeared.

As in the dining room and garden, our server was dressed in a long Victorian dress, bustling about serving locals and tourists alike.

We enjoyed the house specialty — a game pie made of turkey, pheasant and duck — before heading out into the night to meet our tour guide.

Spirits of the Past

A few ghost hunters turned into dozens as we waited for the tour to begin. With segments on A&E, the History and Sci-Fi Channels, called “one of the most haunted inns in America" by the Travel Channel and documented to be the 7th most Haunted Inn in America, it’s no wonder word gets around that this is the best ghost tour in town.

Because the group was so large, it was divided in half. While our half headed into the house and up to the attic, the other half of our group headed down into the cellar to the “funeral parlor.”

Our guides were dressed in Victorian mourning gowns. Each, in turn, talked about our surroundings, the history of the house, ghost sightings and the experiences of other – especially overnight guests.

We settled onto long benches in the attic facing our guide and a showcase of Civil War memorabilia including bullets, canteens and tin cups. Our guide told us the room just below is the most haunted in the inn.

“Before I worked here, I heard the Holiday Inn always kept a couple rooms available in case guests wanted to leave the inn in the middle of the night,” she said. “I thought it was a joke.”

For effect, she paused and then said, “it’s no joke. They really do.”

Although none of the resident spirits made an appearance, the history of the house, the area and the battle were very informative.

Then it was time to trade places with the other tour guests and we descended the stairs all the way to the cellar where memorabilia is reflective of a 19th-century funeral.

Seated in the staged funeral parlor, we learned about why some of the soldiers and townsfolk may have resisted crossing over: the mid-wife, little boy and Confederate sharpshooter.

The tour was kept inside the evening we visited because of the bitterly cold wind, but we asked where the tour would have gone had it been warmer outside. We made our way to the nearby battlefield and a row of trees. The town was quiet and no ghosts decided to make themselves known to us, but our short walk into the night was a good ending to a journey into the past.

If you go:

Although anyone interested in an encounter of the ghostly kind may want to spend the night at Farnsworth House, my husband and I opted for the Wyndham Gettysburg Hotel — a lovely property located at the intersection of US 15 and US 30.

Opened in September 2006, the hotel offers two restaurants, a health club, indoor pool and whirlpool, Internet access and 27" LCD flat screen TV.

It may not be historic, but this 21st century visitor was very impressed.

For more information check the website at: www.wyndham.com/hotels/MDTGE/main.wnt.

Right next door is the Gateway Theaters 8. Featured in one of the theaters is Fields of Freedom, an epic film documentary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

For more information, check the website at www.gatewaygettysburg.com/theaters.html.

For more information on Farnsworth House, check the website at www.farnsworthhouseinn.com.

For more information on all the attractions in Gettysburg and the immediate area, visit the website at www.gettysburg.travel/.

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