Opportunities Watchlist

Sheepford Road Bridge
Sheepford Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

The Sheepford Road Bridge was fabricated by the Phoenix Bridge Co. of Phoenixville, PA, and erected by their agents Dean & Westbrook of New York. The company was instrumental in refining and popularizing metal truss bridge technology during the last half of the 19th century. Truss bridges with Phoenix column members were used widely by railroads through the mid-1880s, and for highway applications through the mid 1890’s. It is mostly the later highway examples, such as the Sheepford Road Bridge, that have survived in small numbers in Pennsylvania. The cast and wrought-iron bridge provides an important snapshot of thinking about bridge design and fabrication prior to steel and standardization. The Sheepford Road Bridge was added to the Cumberland County register of Historic Places in November 2020.

York and Cumberland Counties have completed a Closure and Removal Study for the bridge, with a recommendation of permanent closure for traffic. The counties are allowing Friends of Sheepford Road Bridge until October 2022 to come up with a preservation solution which will require new ownership and funding for restoration. If a preservation solution cannot be found, the bridge will likely be removed and demolished. Sheepford Road Bridge Committee of the West Shore Historical Society are working towards the goal of full restoration of the Sheepford Road Bridge as a pedestrian bridge with access for emergency vehicles.

The Scott Farm
Middlesex Township
301 Bernheisle Bridge Road
Carlisle, PA 17015

The Scott farm is representative of a 19th century farm that reflects the rural, agricultural character of this area, despite ongoing commercial and residential development around Carlisle and along the Carlisle Pike. The Farm includes a frame, four-bay, German farmhouse with an historic frame barn and several outbuildings. The Property is located in a partially wooded area along the Appalachian Trail between the Conodoguinet Creek and a large mobile home development. It is currently used by the AT Conservancy as a base for the mid-Atlantic Trail Crew program, as a staging area for Cumberland Valley Trail Club projects, as a tool and material storage facility, and as a water source and parking area for AT users.

To reduce maintenance costs and avoid necessary improvements to this property, the National Park Service is proposing to demolish the farm, including a farmhouse, barn and outbuildings, because they are “not needed to support” the Trail’s missions and “may present a safety hazard to both the public and those who manage the trail”.

Junkin House
Silver Spring Township
336 N. Locust Road
Mechancisburg, PA 17050

The house is a two-story stone house with a side-gabled roof, dated to pre-1798. The main block of the building is three bays wide with a central entrance. The Junkin House is named for Joseph Junkin Sr who took out a warrant of 100 acres in 1753 which was retained as 271 acres when it was patented in 1788. he also took out a warrant for 100 acres in 1762, and this was returned as 113 acres when it was patented in 1788. Overall, he had aggregate of 413 acres. In 1777, and according to Joseph Sr’s will his three daughters were to remain with his son Benjamin. They were to have their boarding and provisions as long as they cooked, washed and spun yarn to his satisfaction. Joseph’s wife was to have “one of the lower rooms to live in”. From this it can be assumed that Benjamin was to have the family homestead, and that this building was more than one story. However, the house is not registered on the 1789 federal tax as one of Benjamin’s houses. The first recorded deed for this property was when John Carothers sold it in 1814 to John King. In 181 King laid out the village of “Kingston”.

Barnitz Mill aka James Weakley Mill
Dickinson Township
2 Barnitz Road
Carlisle, PA 17015

The building sits along the Yellow Breeches Creek and was originally constructed in 1768. It is composed of field stone walls at the basement and first floor levels, while the second and third stories are made with wood posts and siding. It was originally owned by James Weakley—formerly known as the Weakley Mill—in August of 1751 until his death in 1772. In 1844, 350 acres of the lot was sold to Jacob Barnitz; for the past 150 years, the Mill has been known as the Barnitz Mill. Presently, the site has been owned by the Township since 1999. In 2003, with the support of the Stuart Foundation, repairs have been made to the Mill—but the building continues to deteriorate. There are failing intel’s, some interior beam failures in need of correction, and a failing foundation. The Cumberland County Historical Society includes this Mill in its Mills of Cumberland Valley book and it is also on the County Historic Register.

Hogestown Chapel
Silver Springs Township
6611 Carlisle Pike
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050

Hogestown Chapel was built by the Silver Spring Presbyterian Church to help serve the Hogestown community and local residents from 1858-1996. It is a one story, red brick building with a tin roof and a stone foundation. Originally, the chapel only had one room with a small stage in front—but it was sold to a family in 1997, and was converted into a home with a kitchen, dining area, living room, bedroom and bath. In 2016, the Hogestown Heritage Committee bought the property in the hopes of reopening the building for public use and restoring it into its original form.

Huntsdale State Fish Hatchery Superintendent’s House
Penn Township
195 Lebo Road
Carlisle, PA 17015

This is a two-story brick residence and it is built in a cruciform plan with four gables. It has been identified as the home of General T.C. Miller, a mid-nineteenth century owner of the Cumberland Furnace Iron industry in Huntsdale. There has been debate as to whether the site was built in 1855 or not. Structural details including doors, door hardware windows, and trim moldings suggest construction after 1880. The Fish Hatchery acquired the building in the 1930s, which became home to Ted Dingle and his family. Dingle was the Superintendent of the Huntsdale Fish Hatchery and continued to live in the home until his retirement, which was then passed down to Ted Dingle, Jr., in which he lived there until his retirement as well. Since then, the Fish Hatchery has no use for the building. It is located on a level lot adjacent to the railroad and the Yellow Breeches Creek on the North and original Fish Hatchery Building on the south. The Fish and Boat Commission is willing to offer the property for rehabilitation with a long-term lease on the site and/or are also willing to sell it if necessary. If there is no viable plan to preserve the site, it will potentially be demolished.

Letort Spring Run Landscape
South Middleton Township
South Spring Garden Street
Carlisle, PA 17015

The Letort is known as the birthplace of understandings, techniques, fly patterns, and terrestrial insect imitations of fly fishing. Limestone bedrock is foundational to the Letort’s landscape’s historic roles; it exemplifies land-use trends that have shaped Cumberland County dating back since the 19th century. Currently, the landscape is facing threats of private consumption; subdivision of homes and shopping centers have marginalized working lands. Commercial and industrial expansion, such as Union Quarry’s plans to extend operations south, pose uncertainties for the landscape’s historical resources. Local residents, who have also recognized this threat, have participated in a conservation movement to secure lands and laws that would protect the landscape. Central PA Conservancy recently led an effort to attain most of spring garden watercress farm, thus foreclosing the site’s development for two home lots and saving a timber-frame barn and limestone springhouse. Unfortunately, not everything was saved; the Burkholder house, Klepper barn, and Holmes farm corncrib were demolished. Threats are mainly directed towards the landscape’s setting, which can reinforce a cycle of decay.

Meeting House Springs Cemetery
North Middleton Township
1200 Meeting House Road
Carlisle, PA 17013

The cemetery is on a one-acre lot that is located in North Middleton Township on Meeting House Road. Meeting House Springs is the site of one of the earliest settlements in Cumberland County of Socts-Irish Presbyterian Farmers. Several Revolutionary War soldiers were buried at Meeting House Cemetery and the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a marker at the cemetery in the 1930s; the marker lists seventeen Revolutionary War soldiers buried at the cemetery. Meeting House grounds has also been used for many historical gatherings. For instance, on July 4, 1801, a ceremony to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence was held on the site. Also, during the Civil War, a dinner for soldiers of Companies A and G of the 130th Regiment was held at Meeting House Spring in June of 1863. Currently, the site is in good condition—but access to the site is quite difficult. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was closed that eliminated the overpass. To visit the cemetery, people must travel close to one mile on a rough farm tractor path that is wide enough for one car; the route is indirect and includes two 90 degree turns. Public events are not held on the cemetery due to safety issues when traveling to visit the location.

Miller/Longsdorf House
East Pennsboro Township
200 First Street
Summerdale (Enola), PA

Originally owned by the Longsdorf family, the Miller/Longsdorf House (MLH) 243-acre property was purchased and the homestead built in 1812. It is a stately two story, beige mountain stone structure in Summerdale. It was a part of the Longsdorf family for many generations and then passed onto to Wesley Miller after marrying a member of the family in 1869. From 1923-1997, MLH—now perched on a 2.24 acre lot—was owned by the Commonwealth of PA, but was then purchased by Lisa and Kelby Steele in 1997. By this time, the house was in disrepair; therefore, the Steeles began a restoration project to restore the building’s historic integrity. In 2007, the Steeles sold the house and was purchased by a group of investors: 200 First Street Associates (FSA). Since its purchase, the site has remained vacant and neglected. For over 100 years, MLH emanates an aura of the town’s bygone era, as the classic design and the striking architectural features of the house has become an iconic symbol to Summerdale; MLH is a part of Summerdale and Cumberland County’s past and future. Currently, it is under threat for being dismantled; the house’s location is at the juncture of vital commercial routes, which makes it an attractive target for development. East Pennsboro Township Commissioners are now representing the interests of their residents and are working on protecting this part of local history.