Commons on Locomotives

Hanover’s first industrial park was built around the railroad lines in the late 19th century. The area known as the ‘Hanover Commons’ helped shape the town’s future as a community of entrepreneurs and family businesses.

Working on the Railroad
Heart of Hanover

There is no doubt that Hanover’s access to rail lines helped position it as a hub of industry and innovation. The businesses in Hanover thrived with access to major metropolitan areas.

Hanover’s Underground Railroad Conductors
Heart of Hanover

Just north of the Mason–Dixon line, the divide between states where slavery was legal and free states like Pennsylvania, Hanover was a logical stop on the Underground Railroad.

Trailblazing Writers Leader, Long, and Prowell
Heart of Hanover

On these first blocks of Frederick Street lived pioneering newspaperwoman Mary Sophia Leader (1835–1913), famous author John Luther Long (1861–1927), and historian George Reeser Prowell (1849–1928), all buried one mile south of here in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Hospitality Before Hostility
Heart of Hanover

Joanna Wrentzel (née Thomas), of Hanover, wrote “The morning of the battle I went to the square with a wash basket of bread and a kettle of apple butter and helped feed the soldiers that were coming into Hanover. The soldiers were awful tired and hungry and were glad to get the food people were giving them.” Visit DiscoverHanoverPA.org for more information.

Search and Destroy, Hide and Seek
Heart of Hanover

In many towns like Hanover, rail depots also were telegraph headquarters. Hanover’s was on present-day Railroad Street. Three days before the Battle of Hanover, Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah White’s men were on a mission: search for and destroy Pennsylvania railroad bridges and telegraph lines.

Center of the Storm
Heart of Hanover

In 1863, charming brick and wooden homes lined both sides of Frederick Street from Center Square to the Winebrenner Tannery and the Karl Forney Farm. This are became the turbulent center of confusion during the battle as cavalrymen from New York and Pennsylvania fight face.-to.-face against those from North Carolina and Virginia.

Stuart’s Fruitless Odyssey
Heart of Hanover

After disengaging from the Union cavalry in the late afternoon of June 30, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry division left Hanover. Stuart and his men embarked upon a half.-circle odyssey south then northeast around town while Stuart’s rear guard, did not depart Hanover until after dark. The next day, July 1, Stuart and a portion of his exhausted troops advanced to Carlisle searching for supplies and information. Some historians contend that Lee suffered an “information blackout” during the first two days of the Battle of Gettysburg, thereby depriving Confederates of strategic high points and information during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Heroics of the Union Cavalry
Heart of Hanover

To some, the nameless, stoic picket on horseback on the Hanover Square symbolizes the dignity and honor of the cavalry, and the vigilance of every day, tough–and–tumble Union soldiers.

Profiles in Union Cavalry Courage
Heart of Hanover

Capturing two prisoners and a Confederate battle flag south of town in this vicinity, Private Burke was the first Medal of Honor Recipient for valor in a Civil War battle on free soil. Read all the profiles by visiting the marker.

Warchime-Myers Mansion
Heart of Hanover

The Myers Mansion was built over a period of three years, beginning in 1911, as the residence of Clinton N. Myers of Hanover Shoe Company. William Warehime generously donated the Warehime-Myers Mansion at 305 Baltimore Street in Hanover, its contents and the grounds to the Hanover Area Historical Society along with an endowment for the conservation of the properties. Mr. Warehime grew up across the street from the Myers Mansion and had long admired the neo-classical structure. The mansion remained in the Myers family until 1997 when Mr. Warehime purchased it from Molly Powl Myers, a granddaughter, who lived in Montana.

Learn more about the mansion and how to visit here.

Aftermath and Stench of Death
Heart of Hanover

York County produced more than 6,200 soldiers in the Civil War. While no final tally is possible, the number of county men who died from war wounds and disease was as high as 900. Hanover’s Mount Olivet Cemetery alone has at least 235 Union graves.

Warfare Engulfs Downtown
Heart of Hanover

Downtown saw heavy fighting as the battle of Hanover erupted in this area – hand-to-hand combat broke out amid gunfire, shrieks, and shouts.

Titans of Hanover Industry
Heart of Hanover

Varied industries, such as foundries; distillers; and coal, lumber and hemp rope distributors, bought or rented parcels within the Commons. The Commons roughly extended from Railroad Street to the west, North Street to the north, and Chestnut Street to the east.

For more information on current industry leaders, visit the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce and read about their apprenticeship program in the area through partnerships with local manufacturers.

Union Strikes Back
Heart of Hanover

As the Union reclaimed the square for good, Kilpatrick ordered troops, with the help of citizens, to barricade streets with barrels, farm wagons, dry goods boxes, and other materials to provide cover.

This pen drawing depicts what a barricade would have looked like as it is a depiction of a similar event in Baltimore, MD.

High Noon in Hanover
Heart of Hanover

As the battle continued into the mid-day, both sides maneuvered their cannons into place to support their soldiers efforts. Both sides exchanged cannon fire for up to two hours.  Artillery units would have looked similar to this photograph of a Union Field Artillery Unit in position.