Spring has arrived and we are always ready to welcome folks to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center. As you welcome your guests into your home, there is so much to share with them. Your guests can learn more about the American Civil War when you bring them to the Museum & Visitor Center for the popular Film, Cyclorama & Museum Experience. Be sure to visit the special exhibit A Rough Coarse Life: The World of the Civil War Soldier. During your visit, have lunch in the Refreshment Saloon or Battlegrounds Café and Grille. Shop the Gettysburg Museum Book Store for books, memorabilia and must-have t-shirts. Afterward, tour the battlefield with a Licensed Battlefield Guide by bus or arrange for your personalized guided car tour. Licensed Battlefield Guides provide an informative, engaging and enlightening perspective of the battle, the people, the monuments and the landmarks.
Our historic sites and experiences are excellent places to bring your guests. Located at 250 Eisenhower Farm Lane, the home and farm of our 34th President, Dwight D. Eisenhower at Eisenhower National Historic Site is open for home tours. Visit nps.gov/eise for the home tours schedule and driving directions.
Photo courtesy of NPS
For families with younger kids, our children’s history museum, Children of Gettysburg 1863®, provides an interactive adventure for your young historians. Located in the historic Rupp House, 451 Baltimore Street, this museum adventure tells stories of children and teens who lived here during the battle. For Civil War enthusiasts, be sure to check out our used book sale, with a variety of Civil War titles available, in the side yard Saturday, April 29, 2023, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
We invite you to bring your guests to the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad StationTM, home to Gettysburg’s first virtual reality experience, Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys. We are celebrating our first anniversary of opening the experience Saturday, April 29, 2023. You will journey back to 1863, follow one of three historic figures and discover their connections with the station in the aftermath of the battle. Guests can see President Lincoln’s arrival and feel the impact of his Gettysburg Address. This experience is located in the historic station, 35 Carlisle Street. Afterward, visit the David Wills House (when open) and then the Gettysburg National Cemetery to continue exploring the history of the brief but significant visit of our 16th President to Gettysburg.
Plan to visit the George Spangler Farm & Field Hospital during the summer with living history and programming Fridays through Sundays, June 9 through August 13, 2023. Your shuttle and admission ticket to the historic site is included with your ticket to the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center experiences or with your Friends of Gettysburg membership. Access to the site is via shuttlebus departing the Museum & Visitor Center.
I would like to give a shout out to Adams County Historical Society and congratulate them on opening the new Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum. It is great to have another place that showcases the rich history of the area. It is another wonderful museum to share with your guests.
We have so much for you and your guests to do here and I am so proud to call Gettysburg my home. We look forward to welcoming you and your family and friends.
Wayne E. Motts
President and CEO, Gettysburg Foundation
First appeared in the Gettysburg Foundation's column in the April 25, 2023, edition of the Gettysburg Times