The Photo Archives has over 50,000 different images dating from the 1850s to the present.  Subjects include Cumberland County people, architecture, places and events.  The collection includes family albums and photos, and the largest photographic record of the Carlisle Indian School in the country.  Other interesting photo-related items are cased photos, stereoview cards, tintypes, lantern slides, postcards, and modern slides.  The collection can be searched using in-house catalogs and indexes. 

The Photograph Collection of the Society is approximately 100 years old.  The collection is used by many patrons for a variety of reasons.  Our images have been used in publications, slide presentations, films, videos, and television programs.  Patrons researching family members, properties, organizations and businesses often find photos of interest.  The Society uses the collection in house for its Heritage Series of books, its bi-annual journal Cumberland County History and in exhibits.  Public exposure to the collection is featured weekly in a local newspaper feature entitled "The Way It Was." 

Click here for IMPORTANT CCHS Reproduction and Usage Rights and Regulations. 

Click here for Photo Order Information
(First, please review the CCHS Reproduction and Usage Rights and Regulations link above).
 

A partial listing of the collection follows: 

GENERAL COLLECTIONS (people, places, objects, events)

Line Collection- 

Photographer:  A. A. Line 
Date:  1869-1928 
Description:  3500 glass wet and dry plate negatives,   original prints, study and permanent prints of  Cumberland County people, places, and events.

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description: 
 200+ boxes of prints of various sizes   organized by subject categories. 
 Major  categories   include architecture, bridges, businesses, 
 Carlisle &   other Cumberland County towns, 
 Carlisle Indian School (Jim Thorpe), celebrations & events, churches, 
 Civil War, farms & barns, people (individuals,  families   & groups), 
 construction & destruction, Cumberland County 
 Historical Society (buildings,  collections, exhibits, activities), 
 rural scenes, schools, sports, taverns, and transportation

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  20 flat boxes containing large photos of   various categories, 
 including  Carlisle, Pine Grove, 
 Laurel, Carlisle Indian School, bridges, Noble family, King family, 
 Beetem family,  groups and individuals

 Photographer:  John Choate 
 Date:  1870s 
 Description:  35 glass wet plate negatives, study and 
 permanent prints, for a stereoview card series, 
 scenes of Carlisle, Boiling Springs, Mount Holly and the surrounding area 

 Photographer:  Ralph E. Hackman 
 Date:  1897-1903 
 Description:  251 4" x 5" glass negatives of views in 
 south-central Pennsylvania, some in Carlisle

 Photographer:  Charles Himes 
 Date:  1869-1910 
 Description:  approximately 250 prints of Dickinson College 
 scenes and the Carlisle area

 Photographer:  Maynard Hoover 
 Date:  1910-1920 
 Description:  333 glass dry plate negatives, study and   permanent prints of Newville (1905-1910), the Carlisle Indian School, the Army War College, 
 Carlisle, and the Hoover family

 Photographer:  Colonel Thomas Sharp 
 Date:  1905-1906 
 Description:  143 nitrate negatives and 95 prints of scenes 
 in Carlisle and surrounding area

 Photographer:  Charles Lochman 
 Date:  1860 - 1870 
 Description:  45 prints made from stereoview cards of   Carlisle, Mt. Holly, mills, 
 and the Lochman family

 Photographer:  James Steinmetz 
 Date:  1930 to present 
 Description:  approximately 900 8" x 10" prints of Carlisle 
 area places, people and events.  This collection is 
 still expanding.

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  59 framed photos of various sizes that are still housed in frames 
 for storage. A number of these 
 are panoramic photos.

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  61 rolled photo, many panoramic views, that   are or were rolled. 
 Many  have been flattened and placed in mylar.

 Photographer:  mixed, many by A. A. Line and John Choate 
 Date:  1870s - 1910s 
 Description:  Approximately 100 Stereoview cards showing the  Indian School, 
 Carlisle and the Carlisle area

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  2000 + postcards of Cumberland County scenes, 
 Pennsylvania and greetings

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  1701 postcards of Cumberland County scenes, 
 Pennsylvania scenes (many real photo cards by Laughlin)

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  34 slide shows, 9000+ slides of Cumberland 
 County related subjects, copies of Line prints, Dr. Weigel  Collection, 
 Allen Collection, Burkholder Collection,  Gobrecht Collection

Burkholder/Landis Collection- 

 Photographer:  John Choate 
 Date:  1877-1902 
 Description:  815 glass plate negatives of mainly studio 
 portraits of Cumberland County people

Cased Photos Collection- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  54 cased photos

Carte de Visite Collection- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  approximately 500 cards made by Cumberland County photographers

Cabinet Size Photo Collection- 

 Photographer:  mixed, one group by John Choate 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  approximately 400 cards by Cumberland County 
 photographers.  Choate cards are of the Indian School.

Tintype Collection- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  66 tintypes

Photo Cards of mixed sizes- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  29 photo cards of various sizes showing people

Family Albums- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  35 albums of Cumberland County families

Family Collections- 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  27 letter size boxes of photographs related to specific families 
 and their related family lines. Major families represented are Bretz, 
 Brown,   Burkholder, Carothers, Cornman, Gorgas, Hemphill, Hoover, 
 Koppenheffer, McCulloch, Motts, Spahr, Rupp, Stitt, and Tritt.

Potamkin Collection- 

 Photographer:  John Choate 
 Date:  1879-1880 
 Description:  70 glass wet plate negatives, study prints, 
 and permanent prints of portraits of Carlisle Indian 
 School students, groups, and individuals.  40 are 
 stereoviews.

Indian School Albums- 

 Photographer:  John Choate 
 Date:  1879-1902 
 Description:  3 albums of 1241 albumen prints showing Carlisle Indian 
 School  personnel, students and  activities

Boudoir Size Photo Collection- 

 Photographer:  John Choate 
 Date:  late 1870s 
 Description:  51 cards of the Carlisle Indian School

Johnston Indian School Albums- 

 Photographer:  Frances Benjamin Johnston 
 Date:  1902 
 Description:  31 views of the Carlisle Indian School,   classroom scenes and activities

Diffendurfer Collection- 

 Photographer:  unknown 
 Date:  unknown 
 Description:  105 glass lantern slides of indians and of the 
 Carlisle Indian School

Hugh Miller Collection- 

 Photographer:  unknown 
 Date:  1900-1930 
 Description:  61 photographs of the Carlisle Indian School 
 and the Carlisle area.  Mr Miller was the Sports 
 Editor for the Carlisle Sentinel during 
 the early 1900s and promoted Indian School sports 
 nationally.

Noaker Collection- 

 Photographer:  Nils C. Noaker 
 Date:  Aug. 23 & 24, 1951 
 Description:  62 8" x 10" photographs taken at the world 
 premier of the movie JIM THORPE - ALL AMERICAN held 
 in Carlisle

Click here for a list of Carlisle Indian School students organized by nation who appear in our photos.

Click here for a list of photos related to Jim Thorpe.
 

SPECIALIZED COLLECTIONS

Griffith Collection 

 Photographer:  John H. Griffith 
 Date:  ca. 1910 
 Description:  107 glass lantern slides used in the Carlisle 
 Theater, showing various Carlisle businesses and 
 previews of coming attractions

Cumberland County Bridges Collection 

 Photographer:  unknown 
 Date:  1910-1920 
 Description:  244 5" x 7" dry plate negatives and prints 
 showing 4 to 5 views of each bridge in Cumberland County

Irving College Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  200+ xerox copies and negatives of original   photos of 
 Irving College that are housed at the 
 Mechanicsburg Public Library

YMCA Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  2400+ photos of the Carlisle YMCA activities 
 from c. 1900 to the present, including athletics, camp, 
 groups, buildings and events

Milton Flower Collection 

 Photographer:  Milton Flower 
 Date:  1940s 
 Description:  approximately 150 photos of historic homes in 
 Cumberland County, Schimmel carvings, and the Flower 
 family

P. K. Miller Sports Photo Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  70 photographs of sports events and participants

Dale Shughart Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  90 photographs taken from an album kept by   Judge Dale F. Shughart of his life and career

Masland Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  2000+ photos from the C. H. Masland Company 
 archives, documenting their activities in Carlisle 
 from 1919-1996.  Many of these photos were used in 
 the company's internal publication, The Shuttle.

Mother Cumberland Collection 

 Photographer:  James Bradley 
 Date:  1960s - 1980s 
 Description:  approximately 200 photos related to railroads 
 in Cumberland County

Photo Albums  (In Flat Box # 7) 

 1. Album of photos by Harry Hertzler Greybill of Carlisle 
    of the Hertzler and Greybill families, high school 
    friends, and Dickinson College, 1900-1905 
 2. Photo album of Mr. & Mrs. Ephraim Adams, former sheriff 
    of Cumberland County 
 3. Photo album of the Mechanicsburg area, 1915-1935

Scrapbooks  (In Flat Box # 7) 

 l.  Scrapbook of Montreville Juda, student at the Carlisle 
     Indian School, containing personal photos, newspaper 
     clippings, and commercial photos 
 2. Scrapbook made for William Sterrett Parkinson by 
     Elizabeth L. Halbert and Annie A. Halbert dated 
     September 14, 1914.  Contains photos, postcards 
     and newspaper clippings of Carlisle. 
 3. Scrapbook of Elmer Edwin Trego "Cooney" containing 
     memories of student life at Conway Hall and Dickinson 
     College from 1909-1916 
 4. "Welcome to Carlisle" scrapbook

Lantern Slide Collection 

 Photographer:  mixed 
 Date:  mixed 
 Description:  37 glass lantern slides of misc. local subjects

Aerial Photos Collection 

 Photographer:  unknown 
 Date:  1946/47, 1958 
 Description:  Two complete sets of aerial photographs of 
 Cumberland County taken between Oct. 1946 and Oct.   1947, and 
 during May-June of 1958.  The 1946/47 views 
 are available in three sizes of prints, 9"x9", 11-5/8" 
 square, and 23" square.  The 1958 views are 9" square 
 and 11-5/8" square.

Other Collections (cataloging in progress): 

 Photo Tile Collection by Charles Himes 
 Red Cross Photo Collection 
 250th Anniversary of Cumberland County Collection

 The Sentinel photographers' negatives, 1950s and 1960s 
 Some are identified and filed by issue date 
 Negatives and prints from the 1984-1988 Historical Survey of 
 Cumberland County Architecture, located in the 
 manuscript vault and photo center

Inquiries

Visitors are welcome to view the photo collection during the Society's regular visiting hours.  Visitors are encouraged to make an appointment in advance so that requests can be searched in advance. 

Reproduction Services

Patrons may purchase copies of photos within the collection in the form of xerox copies or photographic prints.  A reproduction fee is charged for images that will be used for commercial purposes.  For more information or to order photos, click here for Photo Order Information and click here for the CCHS Reproduction and Usage Rights and Regulations.
 

revised 09/03/2003