Mary Virginia “Jennie” Wade made Civil War history on July 3, 1863 as the only civilian killed in the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. Baking bread at her sister’s house on the final day of fighting, she was shot and killed by a sharpshooter when a bullet pierced the door and struck Jennie. She died instantly at just 20 years of age.
Millions flock to the city of Gettysburg each year to visit the locations that the battle made famous, including the house where Jennie’s life tragically ended on that fateful day.However popular the spot where Jennie took her final breath, there is a more recent tourist destination tied to the lore of the Battle of Gettysburg. The home where Jennie began her very short life in 1843 now houses Reid’s Orchard and Winery tasting room, where they pour more than a dozen fine Pennsylvania wines.
Reid’s Orchard and Winery was founded as a winery in 2009, expanding a 35-year-old seasonal fruit and vegetable business, which has provided apples, peaches, currants, cherries, herbs, lettuce, and more across the Mid-Atlantic since 1976. Founder Dave Reid had been making wines privately for years for family and friends, before sharing them with the public, making them available at the orchard (located about 15 minutes from downtown Gettysburg) in 2009. In 2010, Reid’s opened a new location in the heart of the tourist district at 242 Baltimore Street, better known as “Jennie’s House,” where Jennie Wade was born.
Many of the homes located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania— where more than 8,000 soldiers were killed and close to 50,000 were wounded or captured during the course of the infamous three-day battle— play host to activity in the buildings well beyond the living and breathing occupants of today. Jennie Wade’s birthplace is like many of the other homes and businesses in the historic district, plays host to specters, but they probably aren’t the ones you expect given the history of the home.
“Jennie is likely not here,” says Jeanne Crossland who works at the tasting room. “But we do have other inhabitants.”
Protector?
Jennie is reported to haunt her sister’s home just up the road at 548 Baltimore Street, but the home in which she was born definitely has spectral activity akin to the city. One “permanent resident” of Jennie’s House is believed to be a Southern soldier- a sharpshooter- who may have died in or near the house in July 1863.
Jeanne Crossland says they had heard stories about a soldier shares a story about Kathy Reid, wife of Dave Reid and one of the winery owners, who was in the house in 2009, as they were preparing the house to open to the public as a tasting room.
“All of a sudden, Kathy felt the hair on her neck stand up,” Crossland says. “She knew she was supposed to be alone in the house. So, in a very calm voice she said to whoever- or whatever- it was, ‘Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.’”
According to Crossland, Kathy Reid then spoke directly to the soldier’s spirit, explaining who she was and the plans she had for winery, telling the spirit that she hoped to bring people into the house to enjoy the wines and the house’s unique place in American history. She asked if they could co-exist.
Says Crossland, “the feeling of the spirit immediately lifted and [Mrs. Reid] felt at peace. Everything has been fine with the ghost since.”
An unscheduled guest?
In addition to the soldier, another ghost appeared in the house when it was a Bed and Breakfast in the 1990s.
It was the winter of 1996 when the owner, his wife, and a housekeeper were shut in at the home, waiting out a blizzard that had dumped more than 50 inches of snow on the city of Gettysburg.
No one, save the three, was in the house during the storm. However, while they were waiting out the storm and sitting in the same room, the housekeeper reported seeing a figure of a woman wearing a shawl going down the stairs. She got up, went down the stairs after the intruder, and turned on the light. No one was in the house, save the three corporeal figures that could be accounted for.
And, given the blizzard, no one else was expected.
Haunt it yourself!
Reid’s Orchard and Winery Tasting Room at Jennie’s House is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from noon to 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from noon until 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon until 5 p.m. The wines, all produced from Reid’s local orchard-grown grapes, include a variety of reds, whites, and red blends, plus fruit/ dessert wines and hard ciders. The wines can appeal to a variety of palates. I highly recommend the Troika, which is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah, and absolutely delicious, as well as the Jennie’s House White, a comfortable white best served chilled on a porch on a warm summer’s day.
Reid’s Orchard & Winery at Jennie’s House charges a nominal fee for tastings, which are poured in a kitchen decorated with Civil War-era artifacts and Reid family heirlooms. The rest of the home also features furniture and décor from the 1800s. Bottles are sold in the Parlor and guests may choose to open and enjoy them in one of three tasting areas throughout the house, including the Garden which houses Gettysburg’s only outdoor tasting room.
Reid's Orchard & Winery at Jennie's House is located at 242 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 16325. Street parking is abundant throughout Gettysburg, though you may need to walk a few blocks from your car to the shops and restaurants during certain busy times of the year, such as the annual reenactment weekend in July and in October when the ghost tours offered by various tour companies are at their most popular. The entry to the Tasting Room is around the back of the house, through the Garden. Reid's Orchard & Winery at Jennie's House is on the Uncork York wine trail. Phone: 717-334-7537
www.reidsorchardwinery.com
www.reidsorchardwinery.com
