Corker Hill

National Historic Register of Historic Places

History of Corker Hill

Deeds for the subject property were traced back to April 5, 1809, when John Johnston and Sarah, his wife, residents of Washington County, Maryland, sold three tracts of land, totaling approximately 525 acres to John Thompson of Greene Township.  The purchase price was $5,414.00.

John Thompson apparently named his farm of over 500 acres Corker Hill, like the nearby “plantation” of his father, Alexander Thomson, established in 1772 and named Corkerhill after the Scottish town of his father.[1] A portion of the Alexander Thomson plantation became the village later named Scotland.[2]

The architectural evidence suggests a building date for the John Thompson house of c. 1810.  The early nineteenth century building date is supported by the 1798 tax records, which do not show this building as existing at that time.  However, the architectural features clearly indicate construction before 1820.  Significantly, this conclusion is supported by the signature found in the attic on the parging of the central chimney.   Signed by James Thomson, probably the son of John Thompson (Thomson), the inscription is dated 1820, indicating that the building was finished by that date.

The Thompsons appear to have been quite successful farmers and prominent in the Scotland community.  Their success was reflected in their refined Federal styled mansion house constructed with the more expensive brick, not yet commonly used for farmhouses in Franklin County.  However, John Thompson must have developed financial difficulties and consequently lost the farm.  Joseph Culbertson, Sheriff, sold the property to the Bank of Chambersburg on April 16, 1828.  Five years later, on August 20, 1833, the Bank of Chambersburg sold 515 acres and 28 perches to Samuel Garver, Sr. for $15,000.00 (Deed Book 16, page 233). 

Samuel Garver, Sr. was clearly a wealthy man.  The 515-acre farm was large by 19^th century standards, and the purchase price substantial.  Garver apparently subdivided the property into several farms.  M’Cauley’s Historical Sketch of Franklin Co. described the construction of a house for Samuel, Jr. in 1844, apparently on acreage subdivided from his father’s ‘manor’ farm.[3] The 1868 Atlas map of Franklin County indicates that an industrial complex was located along the south bank of Phillaman Run, on the farm of Samuel Jr., including a sawmill, a cooperage, and blacksmith’s shop. The 1850 Agricultural Census listed the Samuel Garver [Jr.] farm, the Martin [M.L.] Garver farm, and the largest farm (the subject Corker Hill farm) at 300 acres was listed under the name of Samuel Sr.’s wife, Sarah, with a cash value of $9,000.[4]  After Samuel Garver, Sr. died in 1854, Sarah and the other heirs conveyed 263 acres to Samuel’s son Jacob Garver (Deed Book 28, page 321). 

The Corker Hill farm prospered tremendously under Jacob Garver’s leadership.  The 1860 U.S. Population Census listed the value of Jacob Garver’s real estate at $20,000 and his personal property at $6,000.  The 1870 Agricultural Census showed the cash value of the farm at $30,000, three times the value cited in 1850.  A dramatic increase in grain and orchard production may be the cause for this increase in value.  Jacob died in 1867 at the age of 53, but his family continued to maintain and operate the farm as the agricultural census and administrative records show.  His estate continued to record receipts for cider, wheat, corn, and oats, as well as dividends from the Cumberland Valley Railroad, a woolen mill, and bank.[5] 

Amounts paid out included $88 in 1869 for “lightning rods for House and Barn.” In May 1870, a cash-out notation read, “Barn on front farm - $922.80.”  This substantial payment appears to indicate a significant renovation of the Corker Hill barn and probably reflects the updated horizontal German siding and louvered vents with elaborate architraves still extant on the barn today.  The 1868 Atlas Map of Franklin Co. shows the J. Garver Estate with two farms, including the Corker Hill mansion house farm with its various associated buildings, and another to the northeast, presumably the ‘back farm,’ showing only one building.[6]

In 1873, probably following the death of Jacob’s widow Mary, the remaining heirs sold their interest in the Corker Hill building complex and 130 acres of the farm to Susie Garver Battin for $9,980 (Deed Book 56, page 248).  Marshall E. Battin, husband of Susie Garver, served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  After his discharge in 1865, M. E. Battin moved to Greene Township where he met and married Susan Garver, one of the heirs of the Garver estate.[7]  Tax records indicate that the Battins lived at Corker Hill and farmed their 130 acres throughout their 30-year ownership.[8] 

In 1900, M. E. Battin described his occupation on the U.S. Population Census as ‘landlord,’ indicating that he was no longer actively farming, probably leasing the land to the occupant of the nearby tenant house.[9]  On August 20, 1904, Susie Garver Battin and M.E. Battin sold 130 acres and 30 perches to Thaddeus M. Mahon for $9,000.00 (Deed Book 135, page 104).  Given the lower sale price for the farm after thirty years of ownership, it appears that the Battins probably did not make substantial changes to the Corker Hill building complex.

Thaddeus M. Mahon was a Franklin County lawyer and in 1872 and 1873, served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.[10] The son of a local blacksmith, Mahon had grown up in the village of Scotland in the shadow of Corker Hill.  He purchased the farm at the age of 64 and died twelve years later.  It is not clear that Mahon ever actually lived at Corker Hill, however.  Franklin County tax records described his residence as Chambersburg throughout the years of his ownership of Corker Hill.  Thaddeus Mahon owned a substantial number of properties in Chambersburg and several Franklin County farms including Corker Hill, which he leased to tenants.[11] 

Given the dramatic additions made to the Corker Hill mansion house c. 1905, it appears that the house may have served as a summer ‘gentleman’s estate’ for its wealthy owner; a post card photograph described the mansion as “Hon. T.M. Mahon’s Home” (see attached copy).  Mahon owned the property until his death in 1916.  In October 1919, the Corker Hill farm and buildings were sold to the Mont Alto Orchard Company for $17,456, nearly double its 1904 price, indicative of the significant additions to the mansion house during Mahon’s tenure (Deed Book 199, page 18). 

The Mont Alto Orchard Company developed the farm property as a commercial orchard into the second half of the 20^th century, using the existing farm buildings and tenant house and adding the warehouse/commercial building to facilitate retail sales.  The Corker Hill mansion house complex was subdivided from the orchard tract in 1922, when it was sold on an 8.9-acre parcel to Charles Davison.[12]  Passing through three owners over the next 50 years the house, on a slightly reduced acreage of 8.5 acres, was sold to Charles and Barbara Little in 1974.[13]

Through the 1980s the Littles recombined a substantial amount of the earlier Corker Hill farm acreage in three parcels of approximately 90 acres, but in 1992, sold the house on its 8.5-acre parcel to Carol Fogarty, who sold it to the current owner in 1999.  In 2001, Barbara Little sold the adjoining 28.5-acre parcel with the barn complex to Greene Township; approximately 2.5 acres of this parcel wraps around the south boundary of the house parcel along the south bank of Phillamon Run, fronting onto Garver Lane and is used by the township for maintenance storage (this section of the township parcel is not included within the nominated property boundary because of its significant loss of integrity).[14] 

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