History
The Swope Manor Bed and Breakfast and its property are rich in history. The first structure on this lot was a two story log structure built by James Gettys in 1793, which for a short time was used as the town jail. The property was soon sold to William Smith for 3 pounds and 15 shillings who used the building for his family's residence until 1802. Robert Graham then purchased the property as an investment and began renting out the home to tenants. The advertisements for the rental property laud its "excellent" well and log horse stable in addition to the main home, which contained six rooms-three per floor. It was under the Graham ownership that the property began to be associated with a parcel of land that was outside of town, which he called a meadow. This land also became available for rent.
By 1817, the property had transferred to a "widow (Margaret) Graham." Margaret may have been Robert's widow. She lived in the home alongside her tenants for the next few years. She passed away in June of 1819 after suffering a long bout of ill health, leaving her property to John Adair, the executor of her will, whom she ordered to sell it for the highest price that he could. Adair repeatedly attempted to sell the property and in the meantime, find more tenants for it through the local newspapers. The property was eventually acquired from the Graham estate by Himes & Smyser in 1827 and they too would rent the home to tenants for a number of years until George Swope purchased the property in 1836 with some financial backing from his father-in-law.
George Swope was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in 1801 and came to Gettysburg at an early age for an apprenticeship in a dry goods store. After finding he had an eye for business, he opened his own store in 1825 in the town square on Chambersburg Street. Shortly after, he moved his store across from the Court House. George married his long time sweetheart and Gettysburg resident, Margaret Smyser and they would have a son named John, who was born on December 25, 1827. Through his business, George developed a reputation for being an honest, faithful, and respected man who was also a successful financier. In 1834, he was elected director of the Bank of Gettysburg. Two years later, he and Margaret purchased the York Street property with assistance from Margaret's father, George Smyser, who George Swope worked with at the bank. They demolished the wood structures on the property and replaced them with a brick home and carriage house. In 1849, Swope was elected President of the bank, a role which he maintained and continued after the bank's transition to Gettysburg National Bank, which he was instrumental in orchestrating. Although now a banker by trade, he had his hand in many other successful businesses sharing his knowledge and expertise. He was President and Director of The Gettysburg Railroad Co., Gettysburg Water Co., The Adams County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. and Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Co.
George and Mararet's son John would enroll at the nearby Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) in 1844. He remained there for two years before transferring to Princeton University to finish out his undergraduate degree. From there, he pursued his M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. His degree certified him to work as both a doctor and a dentist. In October of 1849, John Swope married Emma Wirt, who was from Hanover, the town where his father grew up. They had four children together (three of whom survived to adulthood) before her death in 1862. They began their marriage living temporarily with George and Margaret in Gettysburg before moving, in 1850, to Frederick Street in Hanover, next to the home of Emma's father. Despite living in Hanover, John served as the Director of Gettysburg National Bank from 1852 through 1857 (his father's post undoubtedly contributing to his appointment there).
Tragedy struck the young family in 1860 when their daughter, Emma (named after her mother) passed away at the age of two, just days after John's thirty-third birthday. With John and his wife undoubtedly still reeling from their grief, George and Margaret persuaded the couple to move to Gettysburg in 1861, shortly after the Civil War broke out. The two generations of Swopes lived side-by-side, as George had turned his home into a duplex in 1860 by adding on a two-story brick house that adjoined the western wall of his own home. He gave the new half of the home to John as a reward for his graduation from medical school. Emma passed away in 1862, leaving John to raise his three children alone, although surely his parents would have been able to provide some help as they lived next door. He would not remarry until closer to 1870.
The Swopes were living in the duplex as both armies converged on Gettysburg. They soon found themselves and their home in the midst of the chaos of battle and likely would have rode the battle out in their basements, like many of their neighbors. John sent a friend and former business partner, Dr. J.W.C. O'Neal, to check on his parents' farm outside of town (this was the parcel of meadow that was advertised as accompanying the property years before in the newspapers). O'Neal was related by marriage to John, as his wife also hailed from the Wirt family. However, the mission turned out to be much more dangerous than expected, and O'Neal was captured by Brigadier General James Johnson Pettigrew's Confederate soldiers and reportedly forced to tend to Confederate wounded during the battle. As O'Neal was coerced into providing medical services for the Confederate army, his disappearance likely left John wondering about the fate of both his friend and the farm.
On July 1st Union soldiers retreated from Barlow's Knoll, north of town, racing by their windows with the Confederates close behind. Just a few steps from the home near Stratton Street, an unidentified dead Union soldier was found by a Gettysburg citizen clutched in his hand a picture of his three children. The image was circulated in the papers and eventually led to his wife being able to identify his body.
The Confederates would occupy the town of Gettysburg and the buildings near and around The Swope Manor until their retreat, but the effects of the battle would be with the Swope family for days to come. Lt. William Pohlman who was wounded in both arms on July 3rd during Pickett's Charge and walked to a field hospital where he stayed until July 11th when he was moved to the Swopes' home for more comfortable quarters. Although it appeared that Pohlman was getting better and in good spirits, John Swope brought in an experienced surgeon from Baltimore to evaluate his wounds and determined that he was in favorable condition. Pohlman had sent word to his sister in Albany, New York, and each passing day asked about her whereabouts and if she had arrived to see him. He had many visitors including John McClure, a family friend from his home town and upon seeing him he could hardly contain himself. As the days passed by Mr. McClure and the Swope family attended to Pohlman's every need, but on July 20th a secondary hemorrhage set in and he took a turn for the worse.
With every minute his condition worsening, he fell into a coma and would not respond as many called his name. A short time passed and Pohlman in a state of confusion raised his head and gave the order to "Cease Firing". Lt. Pohlman passed away from his wounds at 11:30 am on Tuesday, July 21st at the home. His remains were sent home to Albany, New York in which hundreds of people attended the funeral of this fallen hero. Now resting in the Albany Rural Cemetery his gravestone dedicated to his heroic actions as a soldier stands nearly six feet tall. Inscribed on his gravestone you will find the many battles he took part in as well as his final words "Cease Firing". It would take years for Gettysburg and its residents to recover from the horrific events of the battle and the devastation that it and the 165,000 soldiers left behind. The Swopes continued providing refreshments to wounded soldiers staying in St. James Lutheran Church across the street.
The Swope home made it through the battle, although John Swope would file a claim with the state for destruction to his property committed by Brigadier General J.E.B. Stuart's men, which likely occurred on July 3rd when they fought at East Cavalry Field. In the claim, John likely referred to the small farm that he would ultimately inherit from George which was about two miles outside of town. In 1879, he received $133.00 for his losses-a more sizable amount than many claimants. The state of Pennsylvania only rarely compensated the claimants for losses caused by the Confederates. It is possible that John received the $133.00, while many of his neighbors received nothing, because his family enjoyed so much power and influence in both Gettysburg and Adams County. Three generations of the extended Swope family held the position of President of Gettysburg National Bank, with their control spanning more or less from 1824 until 1905. Such influence, combined with their standing as the wealthiest family in the county in 1863, may have helped John's cause while applying for a claim, despite the family needing that money far less than their middling and poor neighbors who received nothing.
After the death of his father in 1879, John was elected as President of Gettysburg National Bank. Like his father John also pursued other ventures in the manufacturing and agricultural business. He also inherited his father's property and wealth, which he soon put to use, modernizing the front of the duplex and making a $5,000 donation to St. James Lutheran Church in George's honor. John was then elected to Congress in 1884 to finish the term of Hon. William Duncan who had passed away while serving. John moved his family to Washington D.C. and after his stint in Congress, worked there as a banker until his death in 1910. At that point, he returned home to Gettysburg, to be interred alongside his family in Evergreen Cemetery.
After moving to Washington, John had sold the Swope house to his neighbors, the Codori family. The building was rented out over the next several years as apartment spaces. In the 1950s, it was bought by Dr. LeFever and Mrs. LeFever, who had his practice on the 1836 side of the house. In the evenings, they sometimes hosted President Dwight and Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower to play Bridge. In the 1970s, the house was bought by the Archibald family, who used it for their mining and mineral firm. In the 1990s, it was purchased once again, this time by Ms. Dorothy Ralson. Ralson was an artist and also sold dolls out of the carriage house in the rear of the property. It was her dream to turn the house into a bed and breakfast but she unfortunately passed away before making that dream a reality.
The house sat empty for nearly four years before John and Lori Jumba purchased it in 2012, not only to fulfill a dream of their own but also carry on the dream of Ms. Ralson. John and Lori have completely remodeled and restored this historic home, which has been operating as a bed and breakfast since May of 2013. They have been creating their own layer of history within the home, building up a tradition of hosting an annual pre-ball gathering on Remembrance Day Weekend and their Holiday Tea and Caroling in December. We look forward to making even more memories in this house with you in the years to come!
Cited Sources
Swope, Gilbert Ernest, ed. History of the Swope Family and Their Connections: 1678-1896. Lancaster, PA: T. B. & H. B. Cochran, 1896.
Coco, Gregory A. A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg, July 1-November 20, 1863. New York: Thomas Publications, 1996.
