05/27/2026
🏠DOBBIN HOUSE OWNERS SERIES- #11. 1940-1954
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Dobbin House, we’re excited to tell the story of each of its 14 owners. Every month, through summer 2026, we will review the home’s owners and highlight local historic events that have shaped the house during its 250 years.
Owner #11. 1940-1954- John Lippy Jr., owner for 14 years: After the death of owner Kate Hay Nixon and the elderly tenant living in the Dobbin House, the empty house was inherited by Kate’s son, Thomas. Thomas found it difficult to sell the house. It was now 164 years old and with most owners using the house as a rental for the last 100 years, no modern improvements had ever been done to the house. The tenants still used an outhouse for a bathroom, candles for light and fireplaces for heat. To purchase the house as a home, either for an owner or renter, would require considerable construction and expense. After being on the market for 2 years, John Lippy Jr. purchased the house, not for a home but to create a museum.
John was born in Gettysburg and was a popular entertainer and magician. He loved the history of the area, probably instilled by his grandfather, a longtime Gettysburg battlefield guide. In 1940, he bought the Dobbin House, filled it with his collection of Americana antiques, and opened it to the public as a colonial house museum. Despite the following years of World War II and low tourism in Gettysburg, visitors could walk through the Dobbin House with the rooms decorated near to their original purpose of kitchen, parlour, bedrooms and spinning room (see 1941 pictures). After the war, John also opened a museum in the Wills House, where President Lincoln spent the night before delivering the Gettysburg Address. The next installment of this series, highlighting the 12th owner of the Dobbin House, will appear next month.
Note: To learn more about the story of Rev. Dobbin’s 1776 home, the oldest house in Gettysburg, built as the Declaration of Independence was being written and adopted, we invite you to take a guided tour of the house. Tours are presented at 10:00am almost every day this summer and fall. Space is limited- sign up online to reserve your spot on www.eventbrite.com/e/dobbin-house-1776-historic-house-tour-tickets-1978436102641?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawRNrTFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFyMHpwZ0hvQllTMDFIbTNac3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHp5hiw-5OS2zecCNKDXYov7Smzv-hSpqF98j4tDaPdDV4l0IJLVjcecCMtxc_aem_mbppFKQzyY2gNTvr_U5dFQ. Read more about the tours on www.dobbinhouse.com/tours.htm.
