Pennsylvania Route 97 (Adams County)

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This article describes Pennsylvania Route 97 in Adams County. For the same-numbered route in Erie County, see Pennsylvania Route 97 (Erie County).

Pennsylvania Route 97 marker

Pennsylvania Route 97

Map
Pennsylvania Route 97 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length9.363 mi[1] (15.068 km)
Existed1979–present
Major junctions
South end MD 97 near Littlestown
Major intersections PA 194 in Littlestown
North end US 15 near Gettysburg
Location
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountiesAdams
Highway system
← PA 96→ PA 98

Pennsylvania Route 97 (PA 97) is one of two

Baltimore. From PA 97's northern end, Baltimore Pike continues toward Gettysburg as State Route 2035 (SR 2035) through the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District, where it provides access to the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center
.

Baltimore Pike was built as a turnpike in the early 19th century to connect Gettysburg, Littlestown, and Baltimore. The turnpike was a prominent linear feature during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg despite not being the focus of a particular skirmish. Baltimore Pike was designated one of the original legislative routes in the early 1910s and became the northernmost part of US 140 in the late 1920s. The U.S. Highway was widened and resurfaced in the 1940s. When the US 140 designation was retired in the late 1970s, the highway became PA 97 to match the adjacent Maryland highway. With the creation of PA 97, the route had its northern terminus at the US 15 interchange while Baltimore Pike north of there became unnumbered.

Route description

PA 97 northbound past its southern terminus at MD 97 at the Maryland border in Germany Township

PA 97 begins at the Maryland state line in

quadrant route, through the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District toward the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Evergreen Cemetery, several units of Gettysburg National Military Park, and the borough of Gettysburg.[1][2]

History

The Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike Company was chartered in March 1807 to construct an artificial road from Gettysburg through Petersburg (now Littlestown) to the Maryland state line along the stagecoach route between Baltimore and Chambersburg.[3][4] Baltimore Pike, as it was known colloquially, was a prominent linear feature during the Battle of Gettysburg as it lay along the side of Cemetery Hill and to the west of Culp's Hill. Cemetery Hill served as the tip of the Union forces' "fishhook" defensive formation throughout the three-day battle. Baltimore Pike ran parallel to the Union defensive lines during the Battle of East Cemetery Hill, a Confederate offensive against Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill that started late on July 2 and finished early on July 3, 1863.[5] During and in the time after the battle, the turnpike was lined with several field hospitals, many of which were created in the homes and on the land of civilians such as Henry Spangler.[6]

In May 1911, the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the legislation on June 27, 1913. The state took over the Gettysburg and Petersburg Turnpike and abolished tolls the next day, just in time for the March to Gettysburg ahead of the 1913 Gettysburg reunion.[8] Baltimore Pike was improved as a macadam road from the state line to Gettysburg by 1916.[10] The highway from the state line to US 15 at the intersection of Baltimore Street and Steinwehr Avenue (then Emmitsburg Road) was designated the northernmost part of US 140 in 1927.[11][12] US 140 was widened and resurfaced with concrete from Gettysburg to Littlestown between 1941 and 1943.[13][14][15] The remainder of the highway through Littlestown to the Maryland state line was widened and resurfaced with asphalt between 1943 and 1953.[13][16] US 140's interchange with modern US 15 was completed when the then–two-lane US 15 bypass opened in June 1963, immediately before the centennial of the Battle of Gettysburg.[17][18]

In 1977, plans were made for US 140 to be decommissioned, with PA 97 to replace the section in Pennsylvania.

US 15 Business and Baltimore Street; however, signs for PA 97 were not placed in the square due to opposition from local officials in Gettysburg who did not want sign clutter in the square.[23] The stretch of Baltimore Pike from the bypass to US 15 Business became SR 2035 by 1989.[24][25] PA 97 and the adjacent portion of Baltimore Pike were widened through the US 15 interchange in 2000.[26][27]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Adams County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Baltimore
Maryland state line; southern terminus
Littlestown2.1093.394 PA 194 (King Street) – Frederick, Hanover
Mount Joy Township9.36315.068 US 15 – Frederick, Harrisburg
SR 2035 north (Baltimore Pike) – Gettysburg		Diamond interchange; northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (January 2015). Roadway Management System Straight Line Diagrams (Report) (2015 ed.). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Adams County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (PDF) (Map). 1:65000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  3. ^ Staff (October 13, 1931). "History of Adams County". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Herbert L. Grimm. p. 4. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  4. ^ Staff (September 16, 1807). "The Line of Stages". The Centinal. Gettysburg, PA: Robert Harper. p. 127. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  5. ^ Pfanz, Harry W.; Hartwig, Scott (1994). National Park Civil War Series: The Battle of Gettysburg. Fort Washington, PA: Eastern National. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  6. ^ "Death on Baltimore Pike". Civil War Trust. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  7. ^ a b Staff (June 1, 1911). "Seven Roads to Gettysburg". New Oxford Item. New Oxford, PA: H.I. Smith. p. 5. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  8. ^ a b Staff (July 2, 1913). "Toll Free to Gettysburg". Gettysburg Compiler. Gettysburg, PA: William Arch McClean. p. 1. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  9. ^ Map of Pennsylvania Showing State Highways as Adopted Under the Sproul Road Bill (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1911. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  10. ^ Map of the Public Roads of Adams County, Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65000. Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1916. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  11. ^ Maryland Geological Survey (1927). Map of Maryland: Showing State Road System and State Aid Roads (PDF) (Map). Baltimore: Maryland Geological Survey.
  12. ^ Tourist Map of Pennsylvania Showing the State Highway System and Main Connecting Roads (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1930. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  13. ^ a b Staff (January 2, 1943). "Motor Club Recommends Extension Of Highway To Maryland Boundary". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  14. ^ General Highway Map Adams County, Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65000. Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1941. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  15. ^ Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 000000000000087". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
  16. ^ General Highway Map Adams County, Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65000. Pennsylvania Department of Highways. 1953. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  17. ^ Staff (May 29, 1962). "Says 2 Lanes of 15 Bypass to Be Ready by July 1, 1963". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  18. ^ Staff (June 28, 1963). "Route 15 Bypass Opens Today at 4". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. p. 1. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  19. ^ Staff (June 14, 1977). "Route 140 May Change to Route 97". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  20. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  21. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (October 28, 1977). "Route Numbering Committee Agenda" (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 488. Retrieved September 30, 2015 – via Wikisource.
  22. ^ Maryland State Highway Administration (1979). Maryland: Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map) (1979–1980 ed.). Baltimore: Maryland State Highway Administration.
  23. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  24. ^ Pennsylvania Official Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 1989. Gettysburg inset. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  25. ^ General Highway Map Adams County, Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 1991. Retrieved 2013-12-22.
  26. ^ Federal Highway Administration (2012). "NBI Structure Number: 000000000040971". National Bridge Inventory. Federal Highway Administration.
  27. ^ Staff (December 30, 2000). "2000: Tower Toppling Rises Above List of the Year's Top Stories". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, PA: Gettysburg Times Publishing. p. A12. Retrieved 2014-01-10.

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