Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

=== 1775–1858 ===
[[File:Chambersburg PA Central Presby PHS117.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Central Presbyterian Church on the Diamond (town square) in an old postcard]]
In June 1775, soon after the [[Battle of Lexington]], local troops were raised to fight the British in the [[American Revolution]] under the command of Benjamin Chambers's eldest son Captain James Chambers, as part of the [[1st Pennsylvania Regiment]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Garrard|1856|pp=39–42}}</ref> These troops were among the first non-New Englanders to join the [[siege of Boston]], arriving on August 7, 1775.  James Chambers fought for seven years during the revolution, reaching the rank of Colonel of [[Continental Army]] troops on September 26, 1776.<ref>{{Harvnb|Garrard|1856|p=45}}</ref>  His two brothers, William and Benjamin Jr., each served for much of the war and reached the rank of captain.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bates|1887|pp=180,625}}</ref>  James Chambers commanded local troops at the [[Battle of Long Island]], and at [[Battle of White Plains|White Plains]], [[Battle of Trenton|Trenton]], [[Battle of Princeton|Princeton]], [[Battle of Brandywine|Brandywine]], [[Battle of Germantown|Germantown]], and [[Battle of Monmouth|Monmouth]]. He was part of the rear guard covering the retreat from [[Brooklyn]], and was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine while facing [[Hessian troops]] under [[Wilhelm von Knyphausen|General Knuphausen]] at [[Chadds Ford]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Garrard|1856|pp=48–49}}</ref>

During the [[Whiskey Rebellion]], local citizens raised a [[liberty pole]] in support of the rebels, and to protest [[conscription]] of soldiers to put down the rebellion.  Nevertheless, these citizens were censured in a [[town meeting]] and removed the pole the next day.<ref name="WhiskeyRebs">{{cite book
  | last =Baldwin  | first =Leland Dewitt   | title =Whiskey rebels: the story of a frontier uprising
  | publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press  | year =1968  | page =208
  | isbn =9780822951513 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=QMF2AAAAMAAJ  }}</ref>  President [[George Washington]], while leading United States troops against the rebels, came through town on the way from [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania|Carlisle]] to [[Bedford, Pennsylvania|Bedford]], staying overnight on October 12, 1794. According to tradition, Washington lodged with Dr. Robert Johnson, a surgeon in the Pennsylvania line during the Revolution. This march was one of only two times that a sitting president personally commanded the military in the field. (The other was after President [[James Madison]] fled the [[Burning of Washington|British occupation of Washington, D.C.]], during the [[War of 1812]].) After sending the troops toward [[Pittsburgh]] from Bedford under General [[Henry Lee III|Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee]], Washington returned through Chambersburg sometime between October 21 and 26.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/whiskey/october.html#12| title=The Papers of George Washington| publisher=University of Virginia| access-date=2009-07-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115084853/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/whiskey/october.html#12| archive-date=November 15, 2009| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> James Chambers was appointed a Brigadier General of Militia during the Whiskey Rebellion.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bates|1887|pp=180}}</ref>

Chambersburg was incorporated on March 21, 1803,<ref name="PSA">{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/Bah/DAM/counties/browse.asp?catid=28 |title=Franklin County |publisher=Pennsylvania State Archives |access-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070802091245/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/browse.asp?catid=28 |archive-date=August 2, 2007 |df=mdy }}</ref> and declared the County Seat when the State Assembly established a formal government.  The first courthouse was John Jack's tavern on the Diamond (town square) in 1784, with a permanent courthouse built in 1793, and the first county jail built 1795.<ref name="Kittochtinny">{{cite web| url=http://www.rootsweb.com/%7Epakhs/| title=Franklin County, Pennsylvania USGENWEB Project| publisher=Kittochtinny Historical Society| access-date=2007-09-21| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821012536/http://www.rootsweb.com/%7epakhs/| archive-date=August 21, 2008| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> The "Old Jail" was built in 1818, survived the fire of 1864 and is the oldest jail building in Pennsylvania. It was originally used as the sheriff's residence and had the longest continuous use of any jail in the state, operating until 1971. Today the Old Jail is a museum and home to the Franklin County – Kittochtinny Historical Society.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.chambersburg.biz/page.asp?id=4
 |title=Historical Sites
 |publisher=chambersburg.biz
 |access-date=2007-09-21
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822073704/http://www.chambersburg.biz/page.asp?id=4
 |archive-date=August 22, 2007
 |df=mdy
}}</ref> The county's gallows still stand in the jail's courtyard.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://pafch.tripod.com/pictures/index.album/gallows?i=1| title=Historic Pictures| publisher=Franklin County – Kittochtinny Historical Society| access-date=June 25, 2009| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607232012/http://pafch.tripod.com/pictures/index.album/gallows?i=1| archive-date=June 7, 2009| df=mdy-all}}</ref> From 1786 to 1879 there were five executions in Franklin County totaling six 6 felons – five for murder and one for rape.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyoffrankli00bate/page/458/mode/2up History of Franklin County Pennsylvania .pp.458-459]</ref>

Much of the town's growth was due to its position as a transportation center, first as the starting point on the Forbes Road to Pittsburgh.  The [[U.S. Congress]] placed Chambersburg on the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh postal road in 1803.  The road was rebuilt as the Chambersburg-Bedford Turnpike in 1811.  The [[Cumberland Valley Railroad]] was built in 1837 and was the area's center of economic activity for nearly 100 years.  Until the completion of the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Main Line (Pennsylvania Railroad)|main line]] in 1857, the fastest route from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia was by stagecoach from Pittsburgh to Chambersburg, and then by train to Philadelphia.