Volunteers Share Love of Barns With Visitors
HGAC's Summer at Spangler program at the George Spangler Barn returns May 24, 2025 for the first of 3 Family Days.
In 2025, we mark the fifth anniversary of a successful partnership with the Gettysburg Foundation centered on its George Spangler farmstead. Over the course of the past four summers, HGAC volunteers shared their love for and knowledge of our beautiful Pennsylvania barns with hundreds of visitors, using the stellar Spangler Barn as a teaching tool.
The barn is not only a stunning material culture example of our own iconic Pennsylvania barns (distinguished by both a bank ramp up to the second, or threshing floor, level and a cantilevered forebay), but also was employed by the Union Army as a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg.
In 2025, there will be three Family Days: May 24; August 30; and October 11. These are days during which you can drive directly onto the farm for free. You can also enjoy a free cup of Mr. G’s ice cream while you visit.
However, for the regular summer season, the Gettysburg Foundation has modified its summer schedule to open the farmstead only on Saturdays for the 2025 season (June 7 to August 9). When enough HGAC volunteers are available for any given Saturday, HGAC docents will be there.
The Spangler Farm is located at 488 Blacksmith Shop Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325. A shuttle runs from the battlefield's Visitor Center to the farm for no cost. But you will need to get a ticket from the Visitor Center’s Ticket Counter.
Each weekend at the Farm features different reenactors or living historians depicting various facets of the times: military units; medical services; civilian life during the period, etc. The Foundation docents also address many aspects of the Farm from family history to life on a 19th Century farm to the impact of the battle on this critically placed farm.
In the Foundation's February 2023 edition of Preservation & Progress, Ron Kirkwood, author of Too Much for Human Endurance, notes the importance of The George Spangler Farm as a field hospital in the Battle of Gettysburg and writes about the summer programs:
"The farm is open to the public on summer weekends and three free Family Days each year, drawing hundreds of visitors per day. Knowledgeable guides and living historians who love and appreciate the farm help share its stories. Historic Gettysburg Adams County has taken an active and appreciated interest in the farm and offers youth programs and volunteer barn experts."
"So not only has the Foundation had the courage and vision to preserve the George Spangler farm’s past, it likewise is securing its future as an important educational and historic Civil War site."
Of course, the Spangler barn, winner of the HGAC Barn Preservation Award in 2017, is the centerpiece of the farm and various presentations take place in it. But the overwhelming focus of the presentations is on the role of the barn and property in the weeks before and after the battle, especially its role as the 11th Corps Field Hospital.
The barn stood there for 13 years prior to the battle and continues to lend its majesty to the farm. The focus of the HGAC docents is to introduce visitors to the architectural features and cultural importance of the barn.
HGAC's volunteers address the barn not so much in its medical role but rather as a notable example of regional vernacular architecture in its own right. Centered on an exhibit space under the forebay, HGAC docents will address topics such as its construction and its place in the life of a farm. Be assured, your docents will be ready to represent HGAC to a large and diverse audience, enthralling visitors with their knowledge of our iconic Pennsylvania Barn.
Questions can be directed to Greg Kaufmann at gregkauf15@gmail.com or 931-217-0269.
