Internship Blog: Margaret Gutshall

Hello, my name is Margaret Gutshall and I am currently a Graduate student at Shippensburg University in the Applied History program. I have been interning at the Cumberland County Historical Society the past couple of months, and while here I have been able to research local Cumberland County history. I worked on developing a walking tour focusing on African American history in Carlisle. Through this research I found the story of Taylor Humphreys. I was amazed to find out that Taylor Humphreys was the first African American police officer in Carlisle, he was appointed right after the Carlisle Police Departments foundation. In looking into the history of the African American history of Carlisle I was able to explore Carlisle as well. I got to learn more about the original layout of Carlisle and what businesses used to be around where neighborhoods used to be located. I grew up in Shippensburg just down the road from Carlisle so I am not as familiar with Carlisle history.

I grew up in Cumberland County and family has resided in Cumberland County for many generations. My family has resided in Newville and Shippensburg so I am familiar with much of the history around that area, but getting to explore all of Cumberland County’s history has been a fun experience for me. I got to look at fun photos and archives that the Historical Society holds such as old pet pictures, Girl Scout pictures, Boy Scout pictures, etc. It is always fun to look at old pictures and seeing the changes in styles, leisure activities, and what was considered fun. Looking through these records is fun from an educational standpoint, but they were also fun through the eyes of a Cumberland County resident. I highly recommend making a visit to the Historical Society to anyone that has any interest in exploring the local history of Cumberland County or even a personal interest in finding pictures or information about family.

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