Cumberland County, County administrative center in Pennsylvania, United States.
Cumberland County is a county in central Pennsylvania, USA, set in a broad valley between mountain ridges to the north and the Susquehanna River to the east. The county seat is Carlisle, and several other towns are spread across the valley floor and surrounding areas.
The area was settled by Scots-Irish immigrants in the 1730s, and the county was officially formed in 1750 from Lancaster County. During the Civil War, Confederate forces pushed into the region in 1863, reaching as far as Carlisle before being turned back.
Cumberland County sits in the Cumberland Valley, one of the most fertile farming areas in the eastern part of the country, and agriculture has shaped the look of the land for centuries. Driving through the area, visitors notice a mix of fields, small towns, and old stone buildings that reflect a long tradition of rural Pennsylvania life.
The county covers a wide valley, so having a car is the most practical way to get between the different towns and points of interest. Carlisle, as the county seat, is a good base since most public services and facilities are concentrated there.
Carlisle is home to the U.S. Army War College, which has been based there since 1951, on grounds that were originally an Army cavalry depot. Before that, the same site housed the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, one of the first government-run boarding schools for Native American children, which operated from 1879 to 1918.
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