Fort Indiantown Gap

The history of Fort Indiantown Gap dates to 1755, when the colonial government established several forts as defenses for White settlers against the Susquehannock. Tensions had risen as the colonists encroached on the communal lands of the Susquehannock, who had long hunted and cultivated there. The Native Americans became willing allies against the British colonists as the French and Indian War began. At the onset of the war, the Susquehannock attacked colonial frontier settlements, using the passes that existed in Blue Mountain through Manada Gap, Indiantown Gap, and Swatara Gap. Because of these attacks, fortifications were established near Swatara Gap in northern Lebanon County, just east of present-day Fort Indiantown Gap, and near Manada Gap in Dauphin County. The name Indiantown Gap was fashioned from the Native American presence and geography. “Indiantown” is derived from the many Native American villages that existed in the vicinity of the installation, and “Gap” refers to the separation in the Blue Mountains through which the creek known as Indiantown Run flows. Postwar From 1951 to 1953, during the Korean War, the Gap again had a strategic role as the home of the 5th Infantry Division, whose mission was to train 32,000 troops as replacements for assignment to Korea. In 1976, a section of Fort Indiantown Gap was selected as the new national cemetery for the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania donated the land for the site to the Veterans Administration. In 1980, the Gap again became a refugee camp when over 19,000 Cuban aliens were brought there for processing and sponsorship after the Mariel boatlift. The last Marielitos were not released from the Gap until late 1981. Muir Army Airfield, which is home to the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade and the Eastern Army National Guard Training Site, is one of the busiest airfields in the U.S. Army. In 2021, EAATS was selected to be the first unit in the Army—active-duty, National Guard or Reserve—to receive a new variant of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the UH-60V. FTIG is home to the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Pennsylvania National Guard as well as numerous other tenant organizations. In October 2019, it was announced that Fort Indiantown Gap would be home to the Keystone State ChalleNGe Academy, a residential educational program for at-risk youth that is part of the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe Program. The academy welcomed its first class of cadets in July 2022. For years an "open post," Fort Indiantown Gap began construction on the first of two access-control points, or gates, in December 2021. When the gates are finished and additional fencing is installed around the post's perimeter—projected for 2024—Fort Indiantown Gap will become a "controlled access" installation. == Tenant organizations ==

• Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs • Pennsylvania National Guard • 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade • Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site • 166th Regiment Regional Training Institute • Northeast Counterdrug Training Center • Regional Training Site - Maintenance, U.S. Army Reserve • 211th Engineering & Installation Squadron • Lightning Force Academy • Air National Guard Band of the Northeast (553rd Air Force Band) • Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum ==Demographics==

As of the census of 2000, there were 85 people, 33 households, and 26 families residing at the fort. The population density was 4.5 people per square mile (1.7/km). There were 37 housing units at an average density of 2.0/sq mi (0.8/km). The racial makeup of the fort was 97% White, 1% African American, and 1% from two or more races. There were 33 households, out of which 27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 79% were married couples living together, 3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18% were non-families. 15% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 2.81. In the fort the population was spread out, with 17% under the age of 18, 8% from 18 to 24, 29% from 25 to 44, 34% from 45 to 64, and 12% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the fort was $65,893, and the median income for a family was $66,607. Males had a median income of $42,250 versus $31,071 for females. The per capita income for the fort was $27,757. None of the population and none of the families were below the poverty line. ==Geography==

The Fort Indiantown Gap census-designated place is entirely in Lebanon County, occupying the northeast part of East Hanover Township, the western part of Union Township, and a small strip of land along the southern edge of Cold Spring Township, up to the ridgecrest of Second Mountain. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.86%, are water. The area is drained by Indiantown Run, which flows south through Indiantown Gap and into Swatara Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, just south of the CDP. ==Folklore==

An infamous 19th-century murder took place at what is now Fort Indiantown Gap and resulted in a trial of six defendants who, coincidentally, all had blue eyes and became known as the Blue Eyed Six. Four members of the group had taken out an insurance policy on Joseph Raber, an elderly man who lived in the area, and promised to take care of him until his death. As part of the conspiracy, the two other members drowned Raber in Indiantown Run in 1878. Their murder trial, held in the county courthouse in Lebanon, received worldwide publicity after a newspaper reporter noticed they all had blue eyes and gave them the moniker Blue Eyed Six. The trial inspired Arthur Conan Doyle while he was writing "The Red-Headed League". On April 24, 1879, a jury found all six guilty of murder. On appeal, one of the six, George Zechman, was awarded a new trial and was acquitted. The other five defendants were hanged at the county jail. One of the defendants, Franklin Stichler, was buried in a grave on his family's farm. The grave still exists along McLean Road. Another defendant, Israel Brandt, a Civil War veteran, ran a rather seedy hotel along Hotel Road. The murder site in Indiantown Run, Stichler's family farm, and the hotel site were all later encompassed by the Fort Indiantown Gap installation. ==See also==