Gettysburg Historic Daniel Lady Farm opens new hiking trail

The Spark

A new self-guided walking trail has opened at Gettysburg Historic Daniel Lady Farm. Chris Jones, Lady Farm Facilities Manager, and Lauren Wilmoth, Museum Curator says the trail has been in the works for years.

“When the idea was presented to Chris and I, we jumped at it because it gave us the opportunity to really do a lot of deep digging into what we knew about the farm, to get more information as far as the things that we didn't know to weed through the apocryphal versus the factual, “said Wilmoth.

The new trail has 14 markers with details of the property from the 1700’s when it was first settled.

“It covers about a quarter mile. And it can take somebody 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how in depth they want to read. There's also a a brochure that that Lauren and I made that you can get at the building by the front entrance. And that's kind of a walking trail companion. So that'll give you a little bit more information on each marker. So that tells you things like looking to your front in the field, you will see where and describing what happened around that specific spot, “said Jones.

The new walking trail adds a more informative experience at the Gettysburg Historic Daniel Lady Farm. Those looking to explore the trail can have the opportunity to visit on the weekends.

“Because we're not open during the week for the private tours, it gives any visitors and guests the opportunity to come anywhere between 10 and 5 any day and walk through the property to be able to see just how expansive the property is and to really be able to stand at these markers and notice the landmarks around them so they get a true feeling for what it was like, who was where at what time, and what the family went through, “said Jones.

The address to the Daniel Lady Farm is 1008 Hanover Rd, Gettysburg, PA. The events at the Historic Daniel Lady Farm also includes house and barn tours, as well as enactments.

“I just hope it is a more in-depth understanding of what this family went through. And you have to remember, this is the tale of only one family that was affected by this enormous, basically catastrophe that happened all around their properties. You know, the town of Gettysburg had 2400 people at the time of the battle. That's the borough itself. That's not counting the hundreds of farms that surrounded that were used for hospitals. Whenever the armies left, they left behind, like 27,000 wounded men to be cared for by 2400 people. It's just an astronomical task. So for people to get a little more a little more acquainted with the family, you know, the Daniel Laney family is not a they're not somebody you read about in every history book. So this gives us an opportunity to introduce the family and talk about their struggle and what they endured and how they persevered through it, only the way that Americans can.”

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