Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg

The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium. The Lutheran Theological Seminary is America’s oldest Lutheran Seminary. As early as 1818, the Pennsylvania Ministerium named a committee of Rev. John George Schmucker, D.D. , Conrad Jaeger and H. A. Muhlenberg to plan a seminary for the reformed branch of Protestantism. However, the institution was actually founded in 1826 by Samuel Simon Schmucker, a leading Pennsylvania anti-slavery advocate and the son of former committee member, Rev. John George Schmucker, D.D. The younger Rev. Samuel Simon Schmucker became its first professor. Born on February 28, 1799, Schmucker received his theological training at Princeton Seminary, one of the few theological schools at the time. This young professor, was, at this point in his life, the best educated and likely the most influential Lutheran leader in America. When compared to others of his day, Rev. Schmucker stood out among his peers as an outspoken advocate for unity among American Christian traditions. The younger Schmucker had most recently served a pastorate in Shenandoah County, Virginia. The seminary gives its name to the geographical feature, Seminary Ridge, which was the site of fierce fighting on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. The building, as well as adjacent homes of the professors, was used for weeks after the battle as a temporary field hospital before its last patients were moved to the Camp Letterman military hospital. The building now houses the Adams County Historical Society while they build a new structure north of Gettysburg. Since the American Civil War, the Seminary has substantially increased in size, and over a dozen buildings were erected after the war. Scattered throughout the grounds of the Seminary are markers related to the battles, as well as several artillery pieces that approximate the location of several batteries.