In 1776, a Gettysburg minister built his stone home; 200 years later a young couple saved it from demolition, and today the city’s oldest building is marking its 250th birthday
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 demolition
Despite 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 local couple Jacqueline and Gary White took over the property in the mid-1970s. They began a major restoration that included strengthening the foundation, repairing the fieldstone walls, restoring hand-carved woodwork and rebuilding seven working fireplaces. “By the 1970s, the Dobbin House stood at the brink of loss—weathered, neglected, and facing possible demolition,” said current owner Jacqueline White in historical material published by the Dobbin House Tavern. The couple turned the historic home into a colonial-style tavern and restaurant, which opened to the public in 1978. The rooms were carefully decorated in an eighteenth-century style, with china and flatware chosen to match historical items found during cellar excavations. Many of the antique furnishings still inside the house are similar to objects listed in Rev. Dobbin’s original 1809 estate inventory.
New public museum space
The 250th anniversary celebrations will continue throughout the week. On Saturday, 29 August 2026, a public dedication will mark the opening of three permanent additions to the site, including the new Dobbin House Square. The outdoor educational museum and public gathering space on Steinwehr Avenue will offer free access to historical displays around the clock. The square includes full-size settings of the “Charters of Freedom”, featuring permanent replicas of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Civil Rights Amendments and the Gettysburg Address. The displays were donated through the Forward Foundation. “Dobbin House Square will ensure this historic area continues to inspire future generations with five life-size Charters of Freedom settings,” representatives said in a statement published by Gettysburg Connection. “The park is dedicated to preserving the past while investing in its future.” Saturday’s programme will include an honour guard led by the 1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry Fife & Drum Corps and Spencer’s Additional Continental Regiment. The event will end with a seven-gun cannon salute. Reenactors will present living history programmes during the afternoon, followed by Celtic music performances in the evening and historical films projected onto the stone walls of the house.
A building with centuries of history
Historical records show how the Dobbin House changed with the needs of the local community across four centuries. When Rev. Dobbin built the house in 1776, it served as both his family home and the Alexander Dobbin Classical School. The academy educated some of the area’s early lawyers, doctors and political leaders and became known as one of the first higher education institutions west of the Susquehanna River. Before the American Civil War, the property also became a secret stop on the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers escaping slavery could find temporary shelter in hidden spaces built into the upper parts of the house. During the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the building’s strong stone walls provided shelter near the fighting. Surgeons also used the house as a temporary field hospital, treating wounded Union and Confederate soldiers as fighting spread across the surrounding area. Today, the historic property operates as a commercial site with the Springhouse Tavern, Alexander Dobbin Fine Dining Rooms, Abigail Adams Ballroom and Gettystown Inn bed and breakfast. Located near the entrance to Gettysburg National Cemetery, the restored building remains an important part of tourism in Adams County and a lasting reminder of the area’s history.
