Dickinson College
- Local Atmosphere

Five Fun Facts About Carlisle

• Carlisle has played a prominent role in United States history and has seen action from nearly every war ever fought on American soil. During the French and Indian War, Carlisle was the westernmost point at which British Crown regiments bivouacked. Carlisle provided an unusual number of high-ranking officers to the Revolutionary War, as well, including the heroine Mary Hayes, also known as Molly Pitcher.
• President Washington founded the Carlisle Barracks in 1798, the first military school and oldest Army post in the country. The Carlisle Barracks are now home to the U.S. Army War College. President Washington made routine visits to Carlisle and even stayed the night at least once in the downtown area.
• Carlisle is the northernmost point reached by the confederacy during the Civil War and was visited by two contingents of confederate troops led by General Jeb Stuart during the Battle of Gettysburg. The Cumberland County Courthouse in Carlisle bears the scars from the shelling of the town by the confederates to this day. Dickinson’s monumental Old West became a temporary field hospital during this event.
• Carlisle is also a center of manufacturing for the automotive industry, as a wide variety of automotive materials are produced here each day. To complement this distinction, the Carlisle Events Company hosts 10 collector car, truck, and motorcycle events each year, drawing over 500,000 visitors from around the world to Carlisle annually. These events include two automotive swap meets (one in the spring and one in the fall), and eight individual specialty shows featuring Corvettes, Fords, GMs, Chryslers, trucks, motorcycles, sport compacts, and vintage imports. These shows are some of the largest in the country.
• Jim Thorpe, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner, pro football player, major league baseball player, and the man described as the greatest American athlete of the 20th century, was schooled in Carlisle and played football for the Carlisle Indian School as a young adult.

Famous People from Carlisle:

John Bannister Gibson – Last Chief Justice under the Pennsylvania Constitution of 1790
Mary Hayes (otherwise known as Molly Pitcher) – Heroine at the battle of Monmouth in the Revolutionary War
Marianne Moore – Poet
Jim Thorpe – Great American athlete
Fredrick Watts – The first U.S. Commissioner of Agriculture
James Wilson – Local lawyer who signed the Declaration of Independence

Local Slang:
Davenport – Sofa, couch
Dippy Eggs – Eggs over easy
Warsh – To wash