Gettysburg Railroad Station

The Gettysburg Railroad Station served as a field hospital following the Battle of Gettysburg, and President Lincoln later passed through it to give the Gettysburg Address.

Construction of the Gettysburg Railroad began in 1856 and was completed in 1858. The line extended for sixteen miles, running between Hanover Junction andGettysburg,Pennsylvania. Construction of the train station was completed in 1859. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the train station was utilized as a field hospital. After the battle, the Union army commandeered the railroad for about six weeks to remove the wounded and forward supplies. About 15,000 wounded soldiers were evacuated from the battlefield over the Gettysburg Railroad. In the days leading up to the dedication of Soldiers’NationalCemetery, about 15,000 dignitaries and guests arrived in town, most of whom traveled over the Gettysburg Railroad and passed through the train station, including President Lincoln on November 18. The next day at the dedication,Lincolndelivered “a few appropriate remarks,” which have become immortalized as the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln departed that evening, again using the Gettysburg Railroad on his party’s return to Washington.

After various changes of ownership due to the sale and mergers of railroads over the decades since the Civil War, in 1998 title to the Gettysburg Railroad station was transferred to the Borough of Gettysburg, which undertook efforts to restore and preserve the building. After $1 million was raised, the building was restored and is now serving as a visitor information center for the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.