The Emmitsburg Experience

First settled in 1733, and populated by Catholic and several Protestant groups, Emmitsburg was founded in 1785.  these groups lived in peace and harmony, finding common cause.  The town attracted an industrious people and, with its plentiful supply of streams to power mills, it quickly became a major center of commerce and industry.

During the Civil War, the Confederate Army occupied Emmitsburg several times.  Selected and fortified by the Union in 1863 as the best location to stop General Lee's advance in the north, the town missed becoming the turning point in the civil war.   This fell to its immediate neighbor to the north, Gettysburg.

Today, Emmitsburg claims for its own the nationally ranked Mount St. Mary's College and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, The Grotto, and The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.

It's roots of religious tolerance and piety still hold sway in almost every aspect of community life today and are manifested in the beautifully maintained homes and stately churches that dominate its breathtaking skyline.