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The Farnsworth House
More than just a taste of history
By Barbara D’Arienzo
Photography by Tara Hope
The Farnsworth House on Baltimore Street is a virtual treasure trove for the history buff. It retains its original walls, floors and rafters, and its décor is Civil War period, featuring Matthew Brady photographs. Its south wall, riddled with more than 100 bullet holes, stands in silent testimony to the fact that the Battle of Gettysburg spilled over into the heart of town. Described as “no man’s land,” deadly artillery rained on Baltimore Street on July 1, 2 and 3, 1863.
The Confederates took over the house on the first day of the battle. Stationed in the garret, they took aim at Union soldiers on Cemetery Hill from a small attic window. Legend tells us that one of the Confederate sharpshooters’ bullets pierced through two wooded doors of another house on Baltimore Street, instantly killing 20-year-old Jennie Wade, who was baking bread for Union troops in her sister’s kitchen; she was the only civilian casualty of the battle.
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