Cashtown Inn

Built in 1797, and Confederate General A.P. Hill made it his headquarters before the battle. The basement became a surgical ward — so many amputations were performed that limbs reportedly piled up against the cellar window.

The Cashtown Inn, built in 1797, is largely considered the most haunted location in all of Gettysburg. Its first owner, Peter Marck, accepted only cash—hence the name. Eight miles from Gettysburg, the inn became Confederate headquarters during the campaign when General A.P. Hill moved his 22,000 soldiers into the area. Hill was suffering from a chronic disease and needed a secure, clean place with facilities for daily bathing, comfortable beds, and a peaceful neighborhood to rest while planning the attack. Generals John D. Imboden and Henry Heth also used the inn as their base.

The basement served as a field hospital during the battle, and legend holds that so many amputations were performed that the severed limbs piled up outside blocked any sunlight from coming through the cellar windows. A young Confederate soldier was shot from ambush by a townsperson and later died in a second-floor bedroom—his ghostly image has been captured in photographs, appearing as a white light at the second-floor window.

The hotel maintains a section on its official website dedicated to photos of ghosts, orbs, and specters witnessed on site. Paranormal activity intensifies during the dates of the original battle, July 1-3. Patrons have witnessed the rocking chair in the A.P. Hill room rocking by itself and felt a person's weight sitting on the bed next to them. A Confederate soldier is frequently seen in the Henry Heth room and near the bar area, while an old-timey woman appears habitually in the General Lee Suite.

For years, guests and staff have reported hearing heavy boots pacing the hallways at all hours. Doors rattle and knobs turn as if someone is trying to enter, yet when opened, no one is there. The inn was featured in the Ghost Hunters episode "The Fear Cage" and also appears in the movie Gettysburg—actor Sam Elliott stayed here during filming.

Today the Cashtown Inn operates as a restaurant and bed & breakfast, welcoming both living guests and its many permanent spectral residents.