In 1776, a Gettysburg minister built his stone home; 200 years later a young couple saved it from...

In 1776, a Gettysburg minister built his stone home Gettysburg's oldest surviving building, the 1776 Dobbin House, marked its 250th anniversary on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, celebrating two and a half centuries since Irish-born Presbyterian minister Reverend Alexander Dobbin completed the stone home. The anniversary was marked with a public reenactment of Dobbin's original 1776 consecration ceremony at 89 Steinwehr Avenue. According to local news outlet Gettysburg Connection, the event included living history presentations, colonial music, self-guided tours and a formal blessing to dedicate the building for another 250 years. The building was completed in the same year the United States declared independence. Rev. Dobbin built it as a family home and classical school. Over the years, it became a tavern, a stop on the Underground Railroad and a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863.Saved from possible demolitionDespite its long history, the building nearly disappeared before reaching its 200th birthday. By the 1970s, years of use, weather damage and neglect had left the stone structure in poor condition and at risk of being demolished. The building was saved when lo...