Wall Alley in Gettysburg. The parking lot for the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church is in the right of frame.This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
Here’s a map showing you the location of Wall Alley (yellow line), as well as the location of an 1863 photograph we’ll use later in the post (pin).This map was created in a chair facing east on March 17, 2017.
Wall Alley can be seen in the foreground. It runs from Baltimore Street at its western end, past the Gettysburg Borough Police Department (center). The Trinity United Church of Christ can be seen in the right background (this was the German Reformed Church in 1863).This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
Here’s the front of the Borough Building. This would have been the Adams County Jail in 1863. Later it would serve as the location of the Adams County Library.This view was taken facing east at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
But why was this alley called Wall Street or Wall Alley?This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
To answer that question, let’s take a look at this photo from July of 1863. The photographer is standing just north of McKnight’s Hill/Stevens’ Knoll. This is a similar view to what Stevens’ Maine Battery saw the night of July 2nd. The battery fired upon the North Carolina troops attacking East Cemetery Hill from right to left.This view was taken facing northwest circa July of 1863.
An approximate modern view. The light blue water tower on the left marks Cemetery Hill. You can also see Wainwright Avenue in the left of frame. The woods that sit on Gettysburg School District property in the center obscure the modern view of the town of Gettysburg.The wall in the foreground is a post-battle addition. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 3:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
The photographer is standing .6 miles from Wall Alley, but because this is a high-resolution scan of a photographic negative, we can still get a closer look.This view was taken facing northwest circa July of 1863.
Taking an even closer look at the July 1863 view, we can now easily identify a few buildings. See the large wall in the center of this photo, just below the flying American flag?This view was taken facing northwest circa July of 1863..
That is the wall to the Adams County Jail, giving the adjacent alley its name, Wall Street or Wall Alley.This view was taken facing northwest circa July of 1863.
There was some confusion about what to call the alley that ran behind the jail and next to this large wall.This view was taken facing northwest circa July of 1863.
At a 1910 town council meeting, a member asked to place a lamp at the intersection of Wall Alley (left) and Schoolhouse Alley (right).This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
It appears there was confusion over which alley he was referring to, the alley having been known as Jail Alley, Wall Street, and Gallows Avenue. The name was officially changed to Wall Alley on October 9, 1978, when the Borough passed an ordinance giving official names to 59 alleys in Gettysburg: “Gettysburg’s Wall Street — an historic cartway behind the old jail (now the Adams County Public Library) on E. High St. will become Wall Alley” (Gettysburg Times, September 29, 1978).This screenshot was taken from the Wednesday, February 2, 1910 issue of The Gettysburg Times.
There are some stones/rocks along the alley where the original wall would have been, but we have no idea if they belonged to the original wall that enclosed the jail.This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2017.
Though the wall was massive, we found a story of a man who escaped. John Lee, imprisoned for stealing chickens, escaped “in broad daylight” over the western wall and hopped into a neighbor’s yard. He then went sprinting down Wall Alley and out into the fields towards Wolf and Culp’s Hill.This screenshot was taken from the Friday, June 24, 1910 issue of The Gettysburg Times.