Candlelight Christmas Tour of Shriver House, Gettysburg

You are cordially invited to take a candlelight tour of the Historic Shriver House, 309 Baltimore Street in Gettysburg, decorated for an 1860's Christmas while hearing the story of the Shriver family and how the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War changed their lives forever. Christmas tours will take place from November 28th through December 19th. Private tours for groups of ten or more are welcome anytime throughout the holiday season; reservations are required.

Take a step back in time to discover how Christmas was celebrated in the mid-1800s. Enter the 19th century home of George, Hettie, Sadie (7), and Molly (5) Shriver as they prepare for the upcoming Christmas holidays. See the candle-laden Chrismas tree in its place of honor on the parlor table as a fire roars in the fireplace of the handsome room decorated with hand-made holiday greenery. After hanging stockings on the mantle, the girls set out milk and cookies in anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus on that magical night. While soldiers faced the perils of the Civil War, Christmas offered a few moments of cheer that would help brighten the lives of those at home. Learn how families celebrated the holidays while fathers, sons, and husbands were separated from loved ones during this tragic time in American history.

The Shriver House Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Historic Preservation Award. The Museum has been used as a filming site for PBS, The Discovery Channel,A&E, HGTV, CNN, BBC, The Travel Channel and The History Channel.

Admission: $10/adults; $7/ages 6-12

For reservations or more information call (717) 337-2800 or email us at mail@shriverhouse.org

http://www.shriverhouse.org/

Shriver House Museum Reenactment 2009

CONFEDERATES TAKE THE SHRIVER HOUSE - TWO KILLED!
The only reenactment to take place in the streets of Gettysburg!

Gettysburg , PA – On Saturday, July 4, 2009 , from 5 to 9 pm , Confederates will occupy the home of George and Hettie (Weikert) Shriver just as they did during the Battle of Gettysburg. This time visitors are invited to talk to the soldiers to learn “first-hand” what occurred during those three days of terror in July, 1863. Hear how Hettie took her two girls, Sadie (7) and Mollie (5), and her fifteen-year-old neighbor, Tillie Pierce, to seek safety outside town only to find themselves deep within the battle lines.

This living history presentation provides visitors an opportunity to speak with Confederate soldiers as they prepare for battle. Watch the sharpshooters as they occupy the attic, fire muskets at their enemy on Cemetery Hill and, in some cases, take their last breath before meeting their maker. Visitors can also see where Civil War medical supplies and live cartridges were discovered during the restoration of the Shriver's home 133 years after the fighting ended. After visiting the make-shift hospital in the summer kitchen, visitors can share a root beer with the soldiers in Shriver’s Saloon and meet some of Gettysburg ’s “local” citizens who also have harrowing stories to share. The Battle of Gettysburg encompassed not only the surrounding countryside but the streets of this historic town as well. This is the only reenactment to take place in the streets of Gettysburg - where it actually happened in July, 1863!

The Shriver's home was painstakingly restored in 1996 and is now open to the public as a heritage museum. Tours offers special insight into the lives of the people of Gettysburg and how the Civil War, and in particular the Battle of Gettysburg, affected them. The story is told through the eyes of the George and Hettie Shriver whose home was just a few months old when the Civil War started. The tour also gives a glimpse into the lifestyles, customs, and furnishings of the 1860’s.

The Shriver House Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Historic Preservation Award. The Museum has been used as a filming site for PBS, A&E, HGTV, BBC , CNN, The History Channel, The Travel Channel and The Discovery Channel and has been selected as stop on the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails program.

For additional information on the Shriver House Museum, please call 717-337-2800 or visit http://www.shriverhouse.org/shriver_house_reenactment_2009.htm


Event: Confederates Take the Shriver House

Contact: Nancie W. Gudmestad, Director
Address: Shriver House Museum
309 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325
Phone #: 717-337-2800
Date: Saturday, July 4, 2009
Time: 5 - 9 pm
Admission: $10/adult; $7 children 12/under
Email: mail@shriverhouse.org

2009 Gettysburg Festival and Fringe Festival

Often referred to as a town located at the crossroads of history, Gettysburg is now poised at a cultural crossroads. This summer, the Festival offers more than 800 artists and performers for 100 spectacular events, more than half of which are free and open to the public. From America’s best in brass to jazz legend Ahmad Jamal, you don’t have to travel half way around the world to find great music, arts and culture. For ten days in June, it’s right here in Gettysburg, where you’ll discover a side of us you might not know. Our civil side.

Shriver House Restoration Tour Part of Fringe Festival

An Inside Look at the Restoration of a Historic Home in Gettysburg

Walking into the Shriver House Museum today is to take a step back in time to see what life was like in 1860’s Gettysburg . The Shriver House Museum Restoration Tour will tell the story of how the Museum came to be and what it took to restore the home of George and Hettie Shriver to its 1860’s appearance - saloon and all.

The Shriver House Museum Restoration Tour is part of The Gettysburg Fringe Festival complementing The Gettysburg Festival - Celebrating America’s Cultural Arts which runs from June 18-28, 2009 .

The Shriver House Museum is a two-story brick house built just months before the Civil War began with a saloon in the cellar and a bowling alley in the back yard. Nearly 136 years later, the house had missing window panes, no electricity, water or heat and a serious leak in the roof. At one time, thirty cats lived in the house which had been abandoned for nearly thirty years. The house was restored, down to the smallest detail, to be used as a backdrop to tell the stories of the civilian side of the Battle of Gettysburg. While the house was undergoing a major restoration, many questions arose. Who built the house? What was the owner’s occupation? What happened to the residents during the battle? It was difficult to find information about the house or its original owners, but after countless hours of research, George and Hettie Shriver’s story gradually began to unfold.

Restoring the house began in January, 1996. That winter brought record-breaking low temperatures, more than a hundred inches of snow and two major floods which made national news. The work was a grubby, back-breaking, eight-to-ten-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week undertaking; but, it was definitely a labor of love. The rewards, however, far outweighed the obstacles because each day brought about new discoveries. Research revealed Confederates commandeered the house during the Battle of Gettysburg establishing a sharpshooters’ nest in the attic. More than 140 years after the conflict, CSI investigators confirmed the presence of blood residue where eyewitnesses described at least two soldiers were killed. Hundreds of artifacts were discovered during the restoration - live Civil War cartridges, percussion caps, medical supplies, and much, much more!

The Shriver House Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Historic Preservation Award and has been used as a filming site for PBS, A&E, HGTV, CNN, BBC , The History Channel, The Discovery Channel and The Travel Channel.

Restoration tours will be conducted at 5 pm , Monday through Friday, June 22-26 ($10/adults; $7/ages 6-12). For additional information or to make reservations please call 717-337-2800 or visit http://www.shriverhouse.org/. For a complete listing of events associated with The Gettysburg Fringe Festival and The Gettysburg Festival, visit http://www.gettysburgfestival.org/.

Museum to Open in Honor of Barack Obama’s Inauguaration

Shriver House To Open Inauguration Weekend

Gettysburg, PA – In honor of the presidential inauguration, the Shriver House Museum will be open on Saturday and Sunday, January 17 and 18, 2009.

The Shriver House Museum tells the true story of one family who called Gettysburg “home” in 1863 and how the Civil War dramatically changed the Shrivers’ lives forever. The story of George and Hettie Shriver, although certainly fascinating and unique in its own way, is more typical of the average Gettysburg citizen’s, and by extension, provides a fuller picture of the overall civilian experience itself. The Shrivers’ were a young family with hopes and dreams common to most young families then and now. They dreamed of peace and prosperity, of a safe place in which to raise their family, and for success in their economic endeavors. But the Shrivers’ expectations were abruptly interrupted by the coming of the Civil War and by one of the most significant battles of that war. Afterwards, the world as they knew it would never be quite the same. The Shrivers’ story is the story of a house and a home, of family and friends, of expectant dreams and intruding realities, of citizens in a time of peace and civilians in a time of war. The dramatic and moving story of George and Hettie Shriver and their daughters, Sadie (7) and Mollie (5), describes their experiences during the Civil War, and more specifically, the Battle of Gettysburg.

Very little was known about the Shriver family prior to the award-winning restoration of their home in 1996. To enter the Shrivers’ home today is to step back in time. Those who walk through all four levels of the house - from cellar to attic and some seven rooms in-between - are able to visualize what life was like back in mid-1800, south-central Pennsylvania. From the time George and Hettie built their dream home in 1860, six families have called this house their home. But how many people have walked these same floors and climbed these same stairs with­out knowing the story of the young family who built this house and the history that took place within these walls?

The Shriver House Museum was painstakingly restored in 1996 and since then has been open to the public as a heritage museum. Tours, narrated by docents in period attire, offer special insight into the lives of the people of Gettysburg and how the Civil War, and in particular the Battle of Gettysburg, affected them. The Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Historic Preservation Award and has been used as a filming site by PBS, A&E, HGTV, BBC, CNN, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, and The Discovery Channel. The Museum is proud to be included as a site in the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails program.

For more information contact:

mail@shriverhouse.org

Restoration Tour in conjunction with David Wills House Grand Opening, Gettysburg, PA

Shriver House Restoration Tour
Tour Will Give An Inside Look at the Restoration of a Historic Home in Gettysburg.


Gettysburg, PA – After a major restoration and in honor of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday on February 12, 2009, the David Wills House in downtown Gettysburg will celebrate its Grand Opening, offering visitors a world-class museum experiences that tells the story of Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address. In honor of the restoration of the Wills House, the Shriver House Museum is offering restoration tours the Shrivers’ home at 7 pm on Friday and Saturday, February 13 and 14, 2009.

Located just a few blocks south of the Wills House, the Shriver House Museum was restored in 1996. The two-story brick house was built just months before the Civil War began but 136 years later, the house had missing window panes, no electricity, no water, no heat and a serious leak in the roof. At one time nearly thirty cats lived in the abandoned house. The house was restored to be used as a backdrop to tell the stories of the civilian side of the Battle of Gettysburg.

While the house was undergoing a major restoration, many questions arose. Who built the house? What was the owner’s occupa­tion? And what happened to the residents of the house during the battle? It was difficult to find anyone who knew much information about the house or its original owners, but after countless hours of arduous research, George and Hettie Shriver’s story gradually began to unfold.

Restoring the house began on January 2, 1996. The work was a grubby, backbreaking, eight-to-ten-hour-a-day, six-day-a-week undertaking, but it was definitely a labor of love. That winter brought record breaking low temperatures, more than a hundred inches of snow and two major floods that made national news. But the rewards far outweighed the obstacles, because each day brought about new discoveries. In addition to learning more and more about the Shriver family, countless treasures were found within the house - inside walls, underneath fireplace hearths and under floorboards. Among the artifacts discovered were six Civil War cartridges, a number of percussion caps and Civil War medical supplies which had been hidden inside the house, and much, much more!

The Shriver House Museum has earned numerous awards including the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Historic Preservation Award. The Museum has been used as a filming site for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, HGTV, CNN, BBC, The Travel Channel and The History Channel. For additional information on the Shriver House Museum or to make reservations for a Restoration Tour, please call 717-337-2800 or visit http://www.shriverhouse.org/.

mail@shriverhouse.org

Shriver House Staff visits Rob Gibson Studio

The Shriver House Museum staff recently gathered for their first formal group photograph at Gibson's Photographic Gallery in Gettysburg . It was an exciting experience to watch Rob Gibson create a photograph employing the same process used in the 1860's. The authentic camera lens Rob uses originally belonged to a Civil War photographer named Walzl. This same lens may well have been used to photograph Jefferson Davis, John Mosby and the Confederate capital. Gibson's methods are authentic and true to the art as well. “We try to make the entire process as authentic as possible . . . we are sticklers for authenticity” said Rob.

Rob’s photographs have appeared in the movies " Cold Mountain ," "Gods and Generals," and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge " as well as Civil War Times, American Profile, and numerous documentaries and films. He has become widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on wet-plate photography in the world. Rob has the uncanny ability to transport his subjects through time with the magic of his artistic skills and technical knowledge of antique photography.

The next time you visit Gettysburg , stop by the Shriver House Museum to take a look at the Shriver House “family” portrait. Also plan to visit Mr. Gibson's studio on Steinwehr Avenue and learn more about this amazing process.

http://www.shriverhouse.org/
www.civilwarphotography.com/gibson/index2.html

Candlelight Christmas Tour of Shriver House Gettysburg, PA

Christmas offered a few moments of cheer that would help brighten the lives of those left at home. See how Christmas was celebrated during the Civil War while fathers, sons, and husbands were separated from their loved ones. Walk through the Shrivers’ home decorated for an 1860's Christmas and learn about holiday traditions and decorations of the period. After the tour enjoy hot cider and holiday treats in the new Museum Shop. We are delighted to have Civil War artist Amy Lindenberger who will presenting several pieces of her work. You might find just the right Christmas gift for that special someone.

Beginning November 29th through December 20th candlelight tours of the Shriver House will be conducted each Saturday evening at 5 pm, 7 pm, and 9 pm. The Saturday evening candlelight tour costs $10/adults and $7/children 12 & under. This includes cider and holiday treats in the Museum Shop.

Groups of ten or more are welcome at any time during the holiday season with advance reservations. The cost of the tour (without cider and holiday treats) is $7.95/adults and $5.95/children 12 & under.
For reservations or more information call (717) 337-2800 or email us at mailto:mail@schriverhouse.com .