Welcome to
RedBuck Guest House
EARLY HISTORY
Situated two houses north of Breckenridge on the west side
of Baltimore Street, in the Confederate-held area of the July 13, 1863 Civil War battle, what is now a more than 2,800 square
foot, two-story home on a 30’x142’ lot originally was land
deeded to Christian Benner in 1826.
In 1829 the land was purchased by George Heck, who in
1834 built the original house. The deed described the home as a
“large, two-story brick house, one room deep with a framed
kitchen and dirt basement.” The original oak plank floors are
still in place in the attic.
Heck sold the property to his son Jacob’s company in 1836.
The house then passed to sisters Martha and Letitia McNeely
(1843-1852), and then to Elizabeth Agnew (1852-1859), who
sold the home to John R. McCullough.
CIVIL WAR
In July of 1863, 66 year old John R. McCullough was living
in the house with his 40 year old niece Adaline (who had been
orphaned at the age of 8, and lived with at least two guardians).
Their next-door neighbors to the south (now Mark Nesbitt’s
“Ghosts of Gettysburg”) were Andrew and Sarah Woods and
their daughters Mary, Eliza and Sarah. According to Mary
(Woods) Young’s daughter, her grandparents took in and hid a
Union soldier who had been wounded in the hand. When it
became too hot in the cellar where they’d been hiding, the
Woods snuck next door with their “guest” to the McCullough
home, where they all hid until July 4, when the soldier left
safely to rejoin his troops.
While research continues on the use of the house after the
battle, it is known that Adaline lived here until her death in
1865. One month later, her uncle married his second wife,
Elizabeth Cobean, and the couple lived in the house until 1869.
20th CENTURY
Over the next 20 years the house passed through four owners
and was then sold to Margaret Cunningham, whose family lived
here for 16 years. When she died in 1905, she left the house to
her husband and grown children and their spouses, who sold it
to a local attorney, who in turn sold it to Thomas J.
Winebrenner and his wife Dilli, that same year.
In 1911, 267 Baltimore Street began its longest “career” to
date – some 75+ years in the same family, starting with its
purchase in 1911 by Mary E. Miller for herself and her three
daughters. It ultimately was passed along to daughter Effie and
her husband Dr. John B. Zinn, professor and Chairman of the
Gettysburg College Chemistry Department for 35 years.
The Zinn’s daughter, Margaret Elizabeth (Peggy), married
Dr. Raymond F. Sheely. From 1941 to 1943 the newlyweds
lived on the second floor, using the first floor for Raymond’s
medical practice. Peggy and Raymond formally purchased the
home from her parents for $4000 in 1943 and continued to live
here for one more year. Although they moved to another
residence, the house remained “Doc” Sheely’s medical office
for 46 years until his retirement at age 75…and it is said that his
first patient in 1941 was also his very last one on August 31,
1987.
The house was used as a rental property during the 1990s
until Bill and Linda Knight purchased it in 1999, undertaking an
extensive renovation that retained as many of the Sheely
property elements as possible including cabinets, doors and
glass-block windows. The Knights furnished it with American
antiques purchased at local estate sales and operated it as “A
Quiet Knight” Bed and Breakfast for seven years.
In July 2006 Paulette Lee and Gary Froseth purchased the
property with every intention of immediately continuing to run
it as a bed and breakfast “with an international accent”. Instead,
Paulette accepted a temporary position in Africa. Once she
returned, the couple operated Passages Inn Gettysburg: A Bed
& Breakfast with an International Accent from June 2007
through January 2010, when Gary Froseth passed away
suddenly during a visit to Nicaragua.
THE LATEST CHAPTER
The home stood vacant from February 2010 to November
2011, as the real estate market floundered. Along came
residents of the Visalia/Exeter, California area who had a
passion for Civil War history and had always dreamed of
owning a historic home. Thomas K. Buchmann II and his wife
Becki Redwine-Buchmann, retired firefighters and Civil War
re-enactors who had participated in the Anniversary Reenactment of Gettysburg several times, found themselves drawn
here to purchase this house as a second home. Upon taking
possession of the house on November 10, 2011, Becki soughtout the previous owner to inquire of the history of the home.
The most ironic and amazing information surfaced! As Paulette
Lee & Becki spoke on the phone, Paulette was physically in
California and had just buried her husband’s ashes….in the
cemetery in Visalia, California where he was raised and
attended high school. And even more ironic; Gary Froseth was
born in Exeter, California where Tom & Becki have lived in
the area for over 40 years. Though there is no evidence of
paranormal activity in this house, even further coincidences
speak loudly of “divine intervention” !
Plans to continue the Bed & Breakfast are not confirmed, but
the Buchmanns have many friends and family that visit the new
“RedBuck Guest House” in historic Gettysburg. A dear
friend, Kathleen Jacob is the resident manager and ‘PHT’
(Preservationist of an Historic Treasure!), while Tom & Becki
are extremely proud to be included on the historic list of
homeowners of 267 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA