Most people come to Gettysburg for the three days in July of 1863, and the battlefield earns every bit of that reputation. Spend a few days here, though, and the town and the countryside around it hold far more than a single battle. We parked Wild Blue Yonder on the southern end of the battlefield and filled the hours between the monuments with local distilleries, a tavern that has been pouring since 1776, a candy shop guarded by concrete elephants, and a pretzel run that loaded down the back of the truck. Here is how we spent our days, along with the long list of things we never got around to.
More museums than a few days could hold
Beyond Gettysburg National Military Park and the Eisenhower National Historic Site, the town is wall to wall with museums for its size, and we did not come close to seeing them all. The Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum looks at the town and its people rather than the fight, the
Seminary Ridge Museum sits on ground that saw the first day's combat, and the Shriver House and the Gettysburg Heritage Center each tell the civilian side of the story. Steinwehr Avenue and Baltimore Street are lined with still more, from ghost tours that walk you through the Jennie Wade House to smaller collections that could swallow an afternoon. We left plenty on the table.
Lincoln Square and downtown
The heart of town is Lincoln Square, and we spent a good while walking a block in every direction from the center. The shops are packed in tight, with gifts and oddments of every kind, and the restaurants spill out around the circle. Right on the square stands the David Wills House, where Abraham Lincoln spent the night before the cemetery dedication and put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address in his room upstairs. The Gettysburg Chocolate Market is here too, with fudge, chocolates, and ice cream served under a restored stained-glass ceiling that is worth a look on its own.
Local spirits
The brewery scene is good for a town this size. Appalachian Brewing Company leans more restaurant than brewery and poured fair, middle-of-the-road beer, but Fourscore and Michaux, the two best-regarded spots, earned their reputations. Fourscore was good but had a limited selection in my wheelhouse - Hazy IPAs. Michaux was excellent with a about 6 on the menu board and a couple of more in cans.
On the distillery side, Chicken Hill sits right on Lincoln Square with five free tastes of flavored moonshine and bourbon, and I left with a jar of cherries soaked in moonshine. Mason-Dixon pours a good bourbon along with vodka, gin, and rum. They have a restaruant location and a downtown tasting room inside Gettysburg Goods right on the square. Cider drinkers have Ploughman's taproom on the square and the well-regarded Hauser Estate, though that is not my lane.
The Dobbin House Tavern
If you eat one meal in Gettysburg, make it at the Dobbin House Tavern. The building dates to 1776 and holds period decor throughout, which makes it about the most fitting room in town for a dinner here. The food backs up the atmosphere, too. The King's Onion Soup was fantastic, and the prime rib was every bit as good. They stay busy, so get a reservation before you go.
Mister Ed's Elephant Museum and Candy Emporium
We found out about Mister Ed's only after we got to town, and I am glad we made the drive. It is a genuine piece of roadside Americana, sitting on Route 30 in Orrtanna about twenty minutes west of Gettysburg. The free museum holds more than twelve thousand elephant figurines that the late founder gathered over decades, and the attached candy emporium sells homemade fudge, nostalgic and hard-to-find candy, and ice cream, along with a vintage Pez truck and a sizable Pez display. There is an outdoor area full of concrete elephants and assorted oddities that is worth a walk on a nice day. It is open daily, and it more than earns the detour.
A pretzel run to Hanover
About thirty-five minutes east of Gettysburg, the town of Hanover is home to a cluster of snack-factory stores, and we were not about to pass that up. We hit the outlet shops for Snyder's of Hanover, Utz, and Hanover Foods and found shelves full of products we never see back home, all at prices that made it easy to overdo it. The backseat of the truck rode home a good bit fuller than it left.
Plan for more than you can do
That is the lesson of Gettysburg. The battlefield alone could fill your days, and then the town hands you breweries and distilleries, a 1776 tavern, a candy shop full of elephants, more museums than you can count, and a pretzel run on top of all of it. Build in more time than you think you need, and let the place spill well past the battlefield, because it will.
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