Community: Mount Gretna

Let’s do a little thought experiment…Imagine it is 1927 and you are sitting at your breakfast table with your wife or husband in your upper-class Central PA home. It’s a typical July morning and your wool and cotton cloths are already starting to itch…. After the newspaper or hand fan you're using to cool yourself gives way, you finally let your significant other know…That’s it! I need to get out of here, we are going on a vacation!.. But where? Well, it will probably have to be somewhere outside that offers some way to cool yourself (although invented in 1905, air conditioners won't be common for another 25 years). It also has to be somewhere relatively close, within a day’s train or carriage ride away. O yea, we also need some of that healing power afforded by nature. The daily tasks of living a refined modern life takes its toll after all. You know exactly what you need…A nice refreshing stay at Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania.

In 1890, Bob built an exhibition hall (today the Mount Gretna Roller Rink) and welcomed the American Farmers’ Encampment. This event, which can be thought of as a precursor to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, would run annually until 1916 and attract crowds upwards of 20,000 people (Lebtown, 2019).

1892 is identified as the “defining year” (MGAHS, n.d.) of Mt. Gretna. It was in this year that Bob was approached by the United Brethren camp meeting at Stoverdale and a committee created to form a Pennsylvania Chautauqua. The latter was a movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries which created a community that brought artists, educators, musicians, showmen, preachers, and other specialists together. The goal of the Chautauqua was to bring access to entertainment, education, and culture to the whole community. Bob accommodated both, and from 1892 on, Mount Gretna was seen as a place to take extended summer vacations between Memorial Day to Labor Day. In 1909 the Conewago Hotel was constructed and the area was now known throughout the country as one of the best summer resorts in the Nation.

Fast forward to 1926, Abraham Lincoln Kauffman, opened his own resort, The Willows, on land adjacent to Mt. Gretna. Among a roller coaster called “The Rocket” (which was bigger than the Comet at Hershey Park) and a carousel, one of the attractions of this park was the “Million Gallon Pool” (Falk, 2021) that was lined with concrete. Although, most likely not a million gallons, this pool was huge nonetheless and boosted daily water changes. Prosperous at first, Abraham Kauffman found himself in financial troubles, and by 1928 the bank repossessed his park. Soon after, thanks to the great depression, the park was permanently closed. Today the Mount Gretna heights can be attributed to Mr. Kauffman's ambition.

With the advent of the automobile, the decline of the railroad, the Great Depression, and the onset of WWII, Mount Gretna transitioned to a year round residential area rather than a summer retreat. However, remnants of its historical past are visible throughout Mt. Gretna. The Lebanon Valley Rail Trail (former C&L line) and the surrounding Governor Dick Park and State Game Lands all hold evidence of the area's past.

Take a bike ride on the Cornwall-Lebanon Railroad (Lebanon Valley Rail Trail) and stop off in Mount Gretna. If you bring your mountain bike, you can even trace the old narrow gauge rail route up to Governor Dick Mountain.

Citations:

Falk, J. (2021, January 12). Memories are all that remains of Mount Gretna's million gallon pool. LebTown. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://lebtown.com/2021/01/12/memories-are-all-that-remains-of-mount-gretnas-million-gallon-pool/

LDub. (2013, September 10). The "A little piece of paradise amongst the trees" story. The "A Little Piece Of Paradise Amongst The Trees" Story. Retrieved April 9, 2013, from https://lifewithldub.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-little-piece-of-paradise-amongst.html

Mount Gretna Area Historical Society. (2019, May 7). A Brief History of Mount Gretna. Mount Gretna Area Historical Society. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://mtgretnahistory.org/2018/06/05/a-brief-history-of-mount-gretna/

Mount Gretna history. Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2022, from http://www.pngmilitarymuseum.org/mt-gretna.html

Mount Gretna's spirit lives on. Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine. (2019, November 5). Retrieved April 9, 2022, from http://paheritage.wpengine.com/article/mount-gretna-spirit-lives-on/

Museum. Mount Gretna Area Historical Society. (2021, December 31). Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://mtgretnahistory.org/research/museum/

ReelNostalgia. (2014, July 4). Mt. Gretna Lake & Beach Memories Lebanon, PA. YouTube. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ila90c0rR8

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, August 10). Mount Gretna Narrow Gauge Railway. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Gretna_Narrow_Gauge_Railway

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, April 2). Robert Habersham Coleman. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Habersham_Coleman

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, February 25). Chautauqua. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauqua