ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The East Broad Top Railroad has helped deliver a long-lost gravestone that had been sitting unclaimed in the time-capsule railroad’s freight office for more than 118 years.
The headstone was placed at the grave of Civil War veteran Andrew Gamble during a Friday ceremony in Burnt Cabins Cemetery, which is near the end of the EBT’s Shade Gap Branch at Neelyton, Pa.
The headstone was one of two that members of the Friends of the East Broad Top discovered in the freight office in 2018 while they were performing stabilization work on the building. The headstones, which sat in their original crates, were put on display in the freight office in 2020 after the East Broad Top Foundation acquired the railroad and began using the building as a starting point for tours.
Curiosity over the headstones grew among visitors and railroad staff.
Last year, the railroad enlisted local historical society volunteers to begin researching the names carved on the stones to discover who they were, where they were buried, and if they ever received a headstone.
A headstone for Simon Locke appeared to be a duplicate as his grave does have a monument. The sleuths then turned their attention to the second stone and solved the mystery.
Gamble is believed to have been born in 1836 and died in 1905. He was a resident of the small village of Burnt Cabins. He served as a private in the Union Army during the Civil War as a member of Company E of the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Research ultimately revealed Gamble’s burial site, a photograph, and that he has living descendants. Railroad staff visited the Burnt Cabins Cemetery and found the Gamble family plot. Gamble’s wife and children had monuments, but there was simply a large rock on what is believed to be Pvt. Gamble’s grave.
At that time, many county commissioners paid for tombstones for Civil War veterans. Huntingdon County paid $38 for Gamble’s funeral and $15 for the headstone, which was carved in Huntingdon and shipped to Mt. Union on the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was then sent to Orbisonia on the East Broad Top.
“In the world of preservation, it is not cliche to say that you never really know what amazing stories are waiting to be discovered hiding in every corner,” EBT General Manager Brad Esposito says. “The EBT Foundation is proud to honor Pvt. Gamble’s life and service to our nation, and proud stewards of the East Broad Top Railroad’s legacy.”
During the dedication ceremony in the cemetery, an Honor Guard provided by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors Team presented a flag to the family of Andrew Gamble — including his great, great, great, great-grandson.
In a world beset by turmoil and trouble everywhere one looks, this is a piece of welcome news. It warms the heart to know that the good people of the East Broad Top were willing to commit their time and resources to do this for Gamble’s descendants. That’s just one more good reason to visit and spend some of my hard-earned money.
Salute!
As a US Army veteran and descendant of at least 2 Confederate veterans (one of whom built the approached to the Columbus & Greenville’s Sunflower River bridge), I thought this was a wonderful effort to recognize a fellow American.
Congratulation to the people of the East Broad Top for doing the right thing. And to the historical volunteers for doing the leg to find out where Mr Gamble was buried. It’s fitting that the head stone was set and unveiled for Veterans Day. It maybe 118 late but at least he is now rightly remembered.