Thornwald Park is a 32-acre park located in South Carlisle, on Walnut Bottom Road. The large Mansion sitting at its center, not officially a part of the park, was built in 1909, and today hosts a bed and breakfast. The park itself has large grass areas and pathways in between the trees. Carlisle residents come to Thornwald to enjoy a walk, have a picnic or simply to find some green spaces close to the city center.

The park has a rich history dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. To find out more, check out the timeline and history of the park, which reveal the different uses of and debates about Thornwald Park and its Mansion over the years.

Timeline | Thornwald Estate | Public Ownership| Debate over use | Converted mansion into retirement home | Dedication of Thornwald Park |The amphitheater | The land | Historical Resources

Material from: Students in History 211: American Landscapes. Dickinson College. Spring 2016. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/carlisleparks/

Created in 1974, Memorial Park is a 2-acre park in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (149 West Penn Street) that offers both passive and active recreation sites.  It also is home to Hope Station, a community center that seeks to empower children to become active leaders.

Photo from: Carlisle Office of Parks and Recreation

Memorial Park Home  |  History  |  Lincoln Cemetery  |  From Cemetery to Park |  Railroad Station  |  Community Voices   |   Cemeteries as Sites of Discrimination   | Photo Gallery |  Historical Resources

Material from: Students in History 211: American Landscapes. Dickinson College. Spring 2016. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/carlisleparks/

Heberlig-Palmer Park is located on the corner of Lincoln Ave and Birch Ave in Carlisle, PA. The park as it stands today is a testament to the community surrounding it — the love and care of the West Side Neighbors over the past few years has transformed this piece of land from a blank canvas to a truly integral gathering space for the town. Browse through the information we have collected on Heberlig-Palmer Park to see just how much this patch of land has changed over the past 80 years!

If you’re feeling inspired to develop a community park in your area like the West Side Neighbors have, check out the National Recreation and Park Association’s Guide to Rejuvenating Neighborhoods and Communities through Parks: A Guide to Success.

Heberlig-Palmer Home  | History  |  Photo Gallery  |   Recent and Future Plans  | Historical Resources

Material from: Students in History 211: American Landscapes. Dickinson College. Spring 2016. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/carlisleparks/

LeTort Park is a twelve-acre park located on Pomfret Street in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is home of LeTort Stream, Carlisle Little League, a fully equipped playground and splash pad, and numerous community activities. Click on the links to find out about the park’s history and recent events.

History  |  Photo Gallery  |  LeTort Park Home  |  Historical Resources

Recreational Activities | Kiwanis Club Donation | Playground | Girl Scout Recognized  | GreenFest  | Mental Health Awareness Week | Trail Markers | Splash Pad | Native Garden | Softball Field

Material from: Students in History 211: American Landscapes. Dickinson College. Spring 2016. http://blogs.dickinson.edu/carlisleparks/

As lifelong residents of Carlisle, we strive to actively support the residents and the broader community and to contribute as best we can to maintaining its status as an ideal area to raise a family.

We draw from our mutual educational and professional backgrounds to offer high quality, family friendly activities that are also enjoyable and accessible for casual visitors.

Our mission is to offer a local activity that educates and encourages a personal sense of accomplishment, while inspiring visitors to learn more about the arts and the creative process. To that end we encourage those who express interest in learning more to reach out to local arts groups, artists, and artisans. We intend to function as a gateway to the broader world of the arts wherever possible.

Our mission is to provide smart, creative planning, engineering, landscape architecture and surveying services to the greater Carlisle region. We have been very involved with several local initiatives to expand and improve green space, design urban redevelopment projects, engineer stormwater management solutions and be a part of other great projects in the area. We are committed to being integrated our local community and economy, as a company and as individuals working and living here. Our downtown Carlisle presence keeps us in the midst of the energy and activity of this vibrant community.

In collaboration with our community, we support and challenge families to help the recognize their strengths, while providing our expertise to educate and empower them to reach their goals, with the ultimate objective of eliminating the need for Head Start in Our Community.

The mission of the Shippensburg Head Start Program is to provide individualized, comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and meaningful experiences for all enrolled children and their families in order to effectively prepare and assist them to deal with their current environment as well as for the future.

Shippensburg Head Start Program is an early childhood program that serves low income families and children 0-5 years old . We have Head Start/ Pre-K Classrooms in Carlisle, Newville, and Shippensburg.

The Charles Bruce Foundation will support the visual, written and musical arts throughsponsorship and stipend to individuals as well as organizations.  Preference will be afforded to but not limited to residents and organizations based within 100 miles of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

As a crisis pregnancy and family resource and support center, we have been serving the greater Carlisle community since 1979. We offer a variety of free education and human services in the form of counseling, prenatal education, parenting education, referrals, pregnancy tests, and baby/maternity food, clothing and supplies. It is our mission to help local families find positive solutions to their crisis situations. Our vision includes continuing current programs as well as offering ultrasound and maternity housing services.

YWCA Carlisle is committed to Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women and providing peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. Our programs, services and events have been meeting the needs of the Greater Carlisle Community for over 95 years! We operate the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Service for the entire Cumberland County. We offer preschool programs and activities to empower young girls in our schools as well as provide health & wellness classes. Racial and Social Justice programs, workshops, trainings and community potluck discussions round out the organization’s mission impact.

As an association of advocates for Cave Hill, we are dedicated to sharing appreciation of Carlisle’s wildest park. We work together to protect the unique ecological, historical and recreational values of this 19th-century trolley park and legendary cave on the Conodoguinet, and to develop a plan for it’s enjoyment in the 21st-century. As a unique green space walkable from town, Cave Hill will play a central role in promoting fit lifestyles and healthy relationships with nature among youth, and in complementing the redevelopment of Carlisle’s north side.

The Carlisle West Side Neighbors are a group of residents who are spreading the gospel about our great neighborhood and looking to improve it along the way. We started our group in the Spring of 2011 and have been connecting residents who share a love of our North West Corner of Carlisle. In these past few years, many new and exciting things are starting in our area with the demolition of the Tire and Wheel and Masland Factories. We make our presence known at the public meetings related to these projects to ensure the voices from our neighborhood are heard.

We invest our time in new projects that will directly benefit our neighborhood. Our first major undertaking is a renovation of Heberlig Palmer Park. Are you interested in getting involved? Please let us know!!

Carlisle Victory Circle Inc. is a Community Based Youth Organization with a mission to challenge young people to prepare for their future through education and character development. We strive to make a difference in the lives of middle and high school students of the Carlisle Area School District. The vision and community goals are relevant to three GCP priority areas.

Leadership Cumberland provides leadership development to promote community awareness, encourage personal engagement and enhance workplace vitality for individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Cumberland County.

The Cumberland County Library System’s mission is to meet the cultural, educational and informational needs of library users and community residents in Cumberland County.

We are a group committed to “investing in our future” by achieving the goals identified in our Vision.

The Downtown Carlisle Association was established in 1981 and strives to enhance the civic, cultural and economic vitality of the entire community – retail, service, academic, government and industry. Currently in it’s 30th year, DCA is one of the longest, continuous running Main Street based programs in the Commonwealth.

The DCA houses the “LoveCarlisle.com” brand and creates a glossy printed downtown guide and map. 25,000 of these maps are distributed throughout the downtown and mid-state to appropriate lodging and high traffic attraction sites. Additionally the LoveCarlisle.com website serves as resource for information on entertainment, attractions and visitation information for Downtown Carlisle.

Each year, the Partnership for Better Health invests more than $2 million in grants and initiatives to advance the health of our region. As a community health foundation, thousands of lives have been touched by our work.

We strive to create sustainable solutions to some of today’s toughest health challenges. Our major goals are to promote healthy lifestyles and increase access to affordable, quality health care throughout parts of Cumberland, Perry, Adams and Franklin Counties. We are proud to support The Greater Carlisle Project and value it as an opportunity to join with many others in creating a more livable community.

The Capital Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area Council is a seven county non-profit organization that networks people, resources and projects to promote responsible use and conservation of our region’s natural, community and economic resources.

We are a church that highly values being partnered and connected within our community. We want to build bridges and seek opportunities to support and encourage community agencies and groups who are working to build a better community. As a Church our vision is to be a diverse family of Christ-followers who seek to live out the love, acceptance, hope and healing of Jesus in all areas of our lives.

Founded in 1913, the Greater Carlisle Area Chamber of Commerce has been serving the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Area for more than 100 years. Our mission is to serve as a community catalyst that encourages and supports economic growth and stability.

YWCA Carlisle is a non-profit, social justice centered agency that works to eliminate racism and empower women in the Carlisle community and beyond. It runs programs for people of all genders from preschool through adulthood.

Employment Skills Center prepares adults for better employment through education and training. Through our classes, students develop skills that help them secure self-sustaining jobs and become active members of our community.

The United Way of Carlisle and Cumberland County unites people and resources to build a stronger, healthier Carlisle and Cumberland County. The mission of of the United Way of Carlisle & Cumberland County is to unite people and resources to build a stronger, healthier Carlisle & Cumberland County.

The Hope Station Opportunity Area Council seeks to lift up the entire neighborhood by tackling our most difficult problems through education, technology, job development and most importantly, teaching our children to become leaders by learning to respect themselves and others.

“Lions meet the needs of local communities and the world every day because they share a core belief – to serve their community.”

Carlisle’s West Side Neighborhood is a vibrant, diverse community anchored by many supportive community organizations and churches. We respect the ideas and opinions of all residents and encourage feedback on ways to strengthen our community through improved safety, security and personal neighborhood connections.

Since 1981, the Downtown Carlisle Association has been striving to enhance the civic, cultural and economic vitality of the entire community – retail, service, academic, government and industry. Currently in our 30th year, Carlisle has the distinction of being one of the longest, continuous running Main Street based programs in the Commonwealth.

Project SHARE is an interfaith cooperative effort which provides food, clothing, nutritional education, and links to programs to empower people in need within the greater Carlisle Area. They promote sustainability initiatives, including education, farming, gleaning, recycling, and many others.

Sustainability is about more than recycling and the environment. Sustainability is about answering a fundamental question: How do we improve the human condition equitably in this and future generations, while conserving environmental systems necessary to support healthy and vibrant societies? This is Dickinson’s working definition of sustainability. Like most definitions, ours is born of a concern for the future of the planet, its people and its living systems, which are threatened by a growing human footprint that is consuming and degrading environmental resources at a rapid pace. It recognizes essential needs of vast numbers of people are not being met in the present, and that poverty and inequality are amplifiers of vulnerability to environmental and other hazards. It is motivated by values that seek balance among economic development, eradication of poverty and hunger, advancement of social justice, and protection of the natural world.