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