Then and Now at Gettysburg 

​Observation Tower located on Oak Ridge. Postcard by Quality L & V Company c1910.

Original Observation Tower on Oak Ridge. gettysburgremembered.com

Around 1895 observation towers were constructed by the U.S. government on the Gettysburg Battlefield with the intention "to afford the observer a complete and satisfactory view of the entire scene of the great battle and enable him to get consistent and accurate idea of it as a whole." Originally, there were five towers constructed. These towers were constructed by the Variety Iron Works of Cleveland Ohio.
These five towers were located at:
Top of Big Round Top (removed 1968)
Zeigler's Grove (removed 1961)
Top of Culp's Hill (still remains)
Northern Oak Ridge (shortened to 25' 1968)
Seminary Ridge (still remains)
Today only 2 full size and one half size tower remain. The Oak Ridge Tower originally stood approximately sixty feet in height. In September of 1968 the Schlesser Demolition Company would reduce the height of the tower to 25' as well as demolish the Big Round Top Tower and rebuild the Culp's Hill Tower. Park officials sited that the reduction in height of the Oak Ridge Tower would still provide as good a view and would be much easier to maintain.
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Identification plaque for the Variety Iron Works Company of Cleveland Ohio located on the Oak Ridge tower. This company would construct five steel towers on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Current observation tower on Oak Ridge.

​Modern view of the Oak Ridge observation tower. The original tower stood 60 feet in height whereas the present tower stands approximately 25 feet in height. The original design of the stairs or entrance to the tower was located on the west side along the road. Today, the stairs have been relocated to the north side of the tower. 

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Early photograph taken from the top of the Oak Ridge observation tower looking north. The intersection of the Mummasburg Road and Doubleday Avenue can be seen. The group of people stand in front of the 90th Pennsylvania Infantry monument dedicated in 1888.

Circa 1950's colored postcard of the Oak Ridge tower looking south.

Across from the Oak Ridge Tower was the souvenir stand owned by Gettysburg's jeweler Penrose Myers.

 Penrose Myers was a well know Gettysburg jeweler with a shop located downtown at 12 Baltimore Street. At first his goods consisted entirely of jewelry, but as interest grew with visitors venturing to the battlefield he began offering silver souvenir spoons. Often engraved simply "Gettysburg" these spoons brought unexpected growth. With the success of the souvenir business he would open a stand or "branch store" across from the Oak Ridge Tower (c 1928). This stand offered a free museum, refreshments and souvenirs and was only open during the tourist season. Myers would retire from the jewelry business in June, 1948. On Sunday October 4, 1948 only months after retiring, Myers would die of "coronary occlusion." On the day of his death Myers had enjoyed a "hearty dinner." After eating he had walked to his souvenir stand and spent over an hour there. Upon returning to his house he was stricken while sitting in his chair and pronounced dead at the age of 90. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg.

With a little investigation we were able to find not only where the stand had stood but also the main entrance to the stand. See below for details.

This small pamphlet given by Penrose Myers mentions the "Oak Ridge Free Museum and Souvenir Stand." Given prior to a battlefield tour the visitor can "Use the margin of your map to make further notations as the guides shall tell them to you." This visit occurred Friday August 22, 1947.​

These postcards were purchased at the Penrose Myers souvenir stand on Oak Ridge. They were found in the original bag from the Myers Free Museum and Souvenir stand.

Then and Now:
Penrose Myers souvenir stand across from the Oak Ridge Tower.

The Myers Museum and Souvenir shop located on Oak Ridge. Gettysburgremebered.com

​​A view looking west of the Myers Museum and Souvenir stand located on Oak Ridge. The shadow of the Oak Ridge tower can be seen in the view. Note the flank markers as well as the red arrow showing the original entrance to the stand.  Today we can locate the original entrance by comparing the location and shape of large boulders that make up the wall.

The entrance to the Myers stand noted by the red arrow. Note the boulders on each side and their shapes. gettysburgremembered.com

​The arrows in these two images show the original entrance to the Myers Stand. Its obvious after finding this original entrance that rocks were placed in this opening after the stand was removed.  Also, the stone wall seems to have sunken over the years.

The red lines denote the original entrance to the Myers stand. It obvious the stones added later to close the original entrance were not part of the original fence. I was very much amazed on how much lower the wall has become over the years. gettysburgremembered.com

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The boulders marked with a RED "X" can be seen in the original photo of the Myers stand. Using these boulders and their shapes made it possible to locate the original entrance. gettysburgremembered.com

Note the boulders with Red "X" can be seen in the modern view.

​The boulders marked with the red "X" can be seen in the original photo of the Myers Stand shown above. Using these boulders and their shapes made it possible to locate the original entrance to the stand. The trees that were located around the Myers stand are now gone.

The red rectangle marks the approximate location of the Penrose Myers "branch store" on Oak Ridge.

The red rectangle marks the approximate location of the Penrose Myers "Branch Store" souvenir stand located on Oak Ridge.