It seems that there are strings connecting all people and all places. This last connection didn’t even occur to me until I was returning to the campground for the last time.
I stayed at Caledonia State Park, about 15 miles outside of Gettysburg. As I turned off the main road, I decided to stop to read the Historical Marker by the road. 
Thaddeus Stevens?! I had been seeing markers with his name on them since Lancaster. The name rung a bell. I remembered that he was in Congress during the Civil War, but I couldn’t quite fit the pieces together.
In this particular place, it turns out that he had an iron forge and blacksmith shop that was destroyed by General Jubal Early abut a week before the start of the battle at Gettysburg.
The Confederate Army had a standing order not to destroy the property of private citizens. General Early took it upon himself to make an exception for Congressman Stevens, who wanted to deprive them of their property – their slaves.
Workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps rebuilt a scaled down model of the forge in the 1930’s.
He also had a blacksmith shop across the street from the forge.
According to the interpretive signs, the stone walls survived the destruction in 1863. I assume that they meant the parts a the bottom, as opposed to the brickwork at the top.
The blacksmith shop was rebuilt and was in use as such until 1895, twenty years after the iron furnace was closed.
If I remember correctly, the blacksmith shop was used for other purposes after it closed, including as a trolley station, a swimming pool gatehouse and a museum.
According to the interpretive signage, Thaddeus Steven is “perhaps the most famous unknown person in American history.” He was a businessman, lawyer, congressman and the father of the 14th Amendment.
Thanks to Donald Trump, the 14th Amendment has been in the news lately, as he appears to think that its repeal would improve things in our country.
Just in case you need a cheat sheet when it comes to the Amendments, this is the 14th in a nutshell:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, as citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
April 4, 1792 – August 11, 1868
It makes me wish I had paid more attention to the historical markers I saw earlier.
I suppose I could stop right there. Or I could go on and tell more about his life, which was rather amazing. But, maybe you might want to Google him and see what others say about him.
Find out how a fatherless young man with a club foot manages to become a lawyer, move from Vermont and do great things for his adopted state of Pennsylvania and make lasting contributions to the country as a whole.
I will take a moment to talk about the Caledonia State Park. This was a place we went on a family vacation in 1966. Dad borrowed his brother’s trailer and off we went.
I remember this park because there was a sign for a playhouse. I was excited by this, because when we moved from the first house I remember, we had to leave behind the playhouse Dad had built for us. I was disappointed to find out that this playhouse was a theater. And, the playhouse is still here.
I also remember it because we had a campsite that was up against a steep slope, and my little brother, Scott, was really into building campfires.
It’s amazing the little details you can remember nearly 50 years later.
Next installment, Gettysburg.