User:Albrown3/Cumberland Valley

The Cumberland Valley is a valley in the northern half of the Appalachian Mountains. It stretches from the Potomac River in the South to the Susquehanna River in the North and is bordered by South Mountain in the East and the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians in the West. The valley mostly lies in Franklin and Cumberland counties and includes several prominent Pennsylvania cities including the southern part of Harrisburg, the state capital.

A Portion of the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylvania.

The valley has served as host to many historical places and events. Among these are the Cumberland Valley Railroad, one of the earliest American railways, as well as many trails used by both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil war.

The valley is also known for its fertile soil which is the reason much of the valley is used as farmland. Along with cattle, the primary crops in the valley are field corn, soybeans, apples, and peaches.

GEOGRAPHY

The Cumberland Valley lies amid the Appalachian mountain range in portions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The bulk of the valley encompasses both Franklin and Cumberland counties in Pennsylvania as well as Washington county in Maryland. The valley is part of the much larger Great Appalachian Valley which extends throughout the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to Lower Canada. The limits of the valley are the Potomac river in the South and the Susquehanna river in the North.

HISTORY

The Cumberland Valley has been home to many historical events since the American Revolution. During the early 1700's, the valley was home to the Shawnee Indians. It was also during this time that the Shawnee in the area joined with the Iroquois League, a hostile alliance of Amerindians. Early traders who moved into the area often found themselves dealing with such hostility. Of the traders who first made their way through the valley, Jacques Le Tort was the only one who established a trading post, near modern day Carlisle, Pennsylvania [1].

Unfortunately, as with many instances of the new settlers dealing with the Amerindians, the Shawnee were mislead when the settlers attempted to lay out a reserve for them. In the title, the wording led the Shawnee to believe that the entire valley was theirs when, in fact, the land was only a small portion of the valley, a few miles off the Susquehanna[1].

However, it wasn't until the mid 1730's that settlers, predominantly of Scotch-Irish heritage, began to move into the valley in large numbers. It was in this year that the valley was divided into its first two townships-Pennsborough and Hopewell, as well as obtained its first road which ran from the Potomac to the Susquehanna. While the valley's first town, Shippensburgh, began it's development in 1733, it wasn't until 1737 that Edward Shippen, applied for a patent for the surrounding land and established the town.

As the valley stretches across the Mason-Dixon line (the line which divided the North from the South during the Civil War), it was home to many important events. In particular, the valley has a number of civil war trails which were used by both the Confederate and Union troops.

US Route 30

Civil War Trails

Cumberland Valley Railroads

ATTRACTIONS

-Civil War Trails

-Rails to Trails

-State Parks

-Caledonia Sate Park
-Mont Alto
-Colonel Denning
-Pine Grove Furnace
-Buchanan's Birthplace

-Appalachian Trail