2023 News

The Gettysburg Foundation invites area residents and visitors to Gettysburg to “Family Day at Spangler,” a free, one-day event from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, at the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital. “Family Day at Spangler” offers free admission and the opportunity for our local community and Gettysburg visitors to experience the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital and provides an educational day for families to experience history and explore the 80-acre historic site.

“Family Day is an excellent time for families and those who enjoy learning about history to explore the best-preserved corps-level field hospital from the Battle of Gettysburg,” said Paul Semanek, Spangler Farm Site Coordinator. “We are thrilled to partner with living historians and local organizations who help bring history to life and make the day special for our guests during their late summertime visit during the Labor Day holiday weekend,” added Semanek.

Guests can interact with living historians on-site throughout the day:

• The Healing: Conversations Between Nurses North and South: A unique and moving portrayal of women who pioneered professional nursing and served during the American Civil War. True accounts based on diaries and first-person references reflect the profound impact Civil War nurses had on soldiers they treated that went beyond the battles and the war.
• Officers for the Union & Ladies for the Union: Portraying officers who commanded and fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, living historians provide first-person impressions, discuss their role before, during and after the Battle of Gettysburg, and give details about military life from the officers’ perspectives. The ladies demonstrate unique home craft skills of the period (bobbin lace, hand sewing and bandbox making) and display home remedies, medical practices and children’s toys of the era. They highlight the importance of the home front during the Civil War, support and aid for soldiers, and the effect the war had on families and communities.
• Colonel Roberts: Living historians bring joyful teachings of the simple pleasures and way of life for families during this difficult period in American history. Doll making, period games, fashions and activities of the time are brought to life, demonstrating pastimes that helped heal the brokenhearted and mend the fabric of the American family way of life during the Civil War era.
• Summer Kitchen Demonstrations: Living historians present 19^th century domestic life during the American Civil War and highlight the uses of the herbs in the garden growing at the historic site.

Historic Gettysburg-Adams County (HGAC) presents historic barn preservation. HGAC interprets the design, construction and use of the iconic Pennsylvania Bank Barn and discusses the restoration that revived the historic barn.

Family-friendly programming and offerings include stories about the civilian role during and after the battle and the Spangler family, information about Civil War medicine with a Civil War Wheeling (Rosecrans) ambulance reproduction on display and a treat from local favorite Mr. G’s Old-fashioned Ice Cream. Visitors to “Family Day at Spangler” may drive to the property, located at 488 Blacksmith Shop Road, Gettysburg, and park on-site.