# Wheatfield Road

The Wheatfield Road is a Gettysburg Battlefield crossroad from the Peach Orchard east-southeastward along the north side of The Wheatfield (on the Peach Orchard-Devil's Den ridge), north of the Valley of Death, and over the north foot of Little Round Top. In addition to modern tourist use, the road is notable for Battle of Gettysburg use and postbellum trolley use associated with the 1892-1896 US v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. case of the US Supreme Court.

## Route description

Wheatfield Road begins at an intersection with US 15 Bus. within Gettysburg National Military Park in Cumberland Township, where the road continues west as Millerstown Road. From here, it heads east-southeast as a two-lane undivided road, heading through fields in the park. The road continues into wooded areas with some fields, passing to the north of Little Round Top. Wheatfield Road comes to an end at an intersection with PA 134 in the community of Round Top, where the road continues east as Blacksmith Shop Road to Baltimore Pike.

## History

During the Battle of Gettysburg, the dirt Wheatfield Road was used by various Union and Confederate troops (e.g., Crawford's Third Division of Pennsylvania Reserves), and Union troops deployed artillery westward to the Peach Orchard using the road. In 1884, the Round Top Branch's wye with double spurs and station was built at the east end of Wheatfield Road, and in 1894 the Gettysburg Electric Railway was laid along a west portion of the road (trolleys also crossed the east end near Round Top Station). In 1895, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ceded jurisdiction of Wheatfield Road to the War Department, and in 1900 two cast iron identification tablets were placed to label the road.$^{:'00}$ The Gettysburg Electric Railway tracks were removed from the Wheatfield Road in 1917 and the road was repaired in 1931. The Wheatfield Road was resurfaced with asphalt west of Sykes Avenue in 1933, and completed "from the Rosensteel pavilion to the Taneytown road" in 1940 by the McMillan Woods Civilian Conservation Corps camp.

## Junction list

The entire route is in Adams County.
| Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Peach Orchard angle | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 15 Bus. (Emmitsburg Road) | Continues west to Willoughby Run via Millerstown Road |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | | | McGilvery Artillery Avenue | Southbound avenue |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 0.1 | 0.16 | Sickles Avenue | Northbound avenue |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 0.21 | 0.34 | Wheatfield Road's Sickles Avenue section "constructed" in 1899$^{:'99}$ | Wheatfield Road's Sickles Avenue section "constructed" in 1899$^{:'99}$ |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 0.3 | 0.48 | Sickles Avenue | Southboun avenue "across Wheatfield")$^{:'96}$ |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 0.6 | 0.97 | Ayres Avenue | Southboune avenue) |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | | | Plum Run bridge 39°47′49″N 77°14′20″W﻿ / ﻿39.7969°N 77.2390°W﻿ / 39.7969; -77.2390﻿ (Wheatfield Rd/Plum Run intersection) north of Valley of Death | Plum Run bridge 39°47′49″N 77°14′20″W﻿ / ﻿39.7969°N 77.2390°W﻿ / 39.7969; -77.2390﻿ (Wheatfield Rd/Plum Run intersection) north of Valley of Death |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1898 Crawford Avenue$^{:'98}$ | Crossroad |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 1.0 | 1.6 | 1897 Sedgwick Avenue and Sykes Avenue$^{:'97}$ | Crossroad |
| Round Top | 1.2 | 1.9 | PA 134 (Taneytown Road) | Continues east to Baltimore Pike via Blacksmith Shop Road |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |||||