Edward McPherson’s 122-acre farm was located about a half mile west of Gettysburg, between the two arms of the ridge that bears his name. The farm was the scene of heavy fighting on the first day of battle, July 1, 1863, and the barn later became a sanctuary for the wounded. (A plaque on the barn denotes this fact.) The McPherson barn is the only remnant of the farm today. The home burned down in 1895.
Edward McPherson was an American newspaper editor and politician who served two terms in the United States House of Representatives. McPherson organized Company K of the First Pennsylvania Reserves at the beginning of the Civil War and later served on the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. Like many of the people who owned farms on the battlefield, he is buried in Evergreen Cemetery.
At the time of the battle, this farm was leased to a tenant, the Slentz family. They stayed at the Lutheran Theological Seminary for several months while the farm was repaired.
The McPherson Barn is Union Hospital #16 on the Adams County Historical Society’s tour of field hospitals.
