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(Gettysburg) -- One of the most recognizable tourist attractions from the Gettysburg National Military Park could be auctioned off soon. The National Park Service is looking to sell its 51-year-old electric map, which lit up to show the movements of Civil War troops during the Battle of Gettysburg before it was retired and placed in storage four years ago. But the federal General Services Administration must first grant a waiver to the park to sell it, since it contains asbestos on the surface. NPS Spokeswoman Katie Lawhon says despite the map's deteriorating condition, people still have fond memories of it. "It did have a place in time, and it's well-loved by people who visited the park often," she says. "A lot of school students remember seeing it in the eighties and nineties." Lawhon says it's not known when the GSA would make a decision on the waiver or how much money the map would fetch. She adds several organizations have previously expressed interest in purchasing it.

(Gettysburg) -- A new tourism report shows increased visitor spending in central Pennsylvania in 2010, despite a somewhat shaky economy and rising gas prices. Visitors spent, on average, eight percent more in 2010 in Adams, Cumberland, and York counties than they did the year before, and nearly nine percent more in Juniata and Mifflin counties. Carl Whitehill, spokesman for the Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, says many Pennsylvanians are visiting tourist attractions close to home instead of going on more expensive vacations. He says the report highlights another interesting trend in many midstate counties, including Adams. "What kind of intrigued us was that the number of employees that are impacted by tourism went down, but the wages to those employees went up. So, that's an encouraging sign to us," he says. Whitehill says he expects the number of visitors in Adams County to climb this year and next summer, which marks the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Tourism spending increased by more than nine percent overall in Pennsylvania in 2010. The industry is one of the top two sectors in the state.

(Gettysburg) -- An Adams County doctor has donated $1 million to a new museum designed to tell lesser-known stories of the famous 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Dr. Brad Hoch has made the gift to the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum to help preserve the former Schmucker Hall of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, which is where the facility will be located. He calls it the most important Civil War building in private ownership in America. "It was the center of fighting west of Gettysburg on the first day of battle on July 1, 1863. This is a national treasure. Very few buildings have what this building has had in it," he says. The building served as a lookout for Union troops on the first day of battle and as a field hospital for months afterward. The exhibits will cover the events of the fight's first 24 hours, the debate over slavery and the midstate's contribution to the Underground Railroad. Hoch made his donation in recognition of Charles Glatfelter, longtime head of the Adams County Historical Society and a former Gettysburg College History professor. The museum's welcome center will be named in Glatfelter's honor.

witf announces the launch of a new mobile app named PA Markers, the first mobile app associated with the award-winning website, ExplorePAhistory.com.

PA Markers is the mobile tool for anyone interested in learning more about American history, Pennsylvania history and the people, places and stories that helped shape our nation.

The PA Markers app reveals the story behind many of Pennsylvania's famous blue and gold historical markers.  Search for a marker by name or set the app to show you all the markers within a set distance from your phone.  Select a marker to see the marker text, then read the full story behind that marker, complete with images and links to other related markers, all on your mobile device. PA Markers even offers additional resources to check out.  No more guessing about town names (Burnt Cabins?)  or historical figures (Daniel Boone).  It’s all on the app!

The PA Markers application can find and map historical markers from all over Pennsylvania along with directions and travel time from your current location.

PA Markers features only official Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) historical markers that have been listed on www.ExplorePAhistory.com.

(Undated) -- Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum started and ended his bid for the White House in his home state of Pennsylvania. Last June, he launched his campaign in Somerset County and his surprising effort lasted nearly 11 months and earned 11 primary victories. But, he dropped out of the race yesterday -- just two weeks from the commonwealth's April 24th primary.

There was a telling moment in the minutes before Santorum took the podium in a small room on the ground floor of the Gettysburg Hotel. Security personnel were insisting that the handful of supporters who were at the press conference not prop the door open. The door must be closed, said a guard. With or without Santorum supporters inside the room. The reason why became clear when Santorum appeared and said he would end his surprising run in the GOP race. Granted, he did say he would still try to keep President Obama from securing a second term. "While this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign effective today, we are not done fighting," he said.

A little less than 200 people crammed into an event room at the Gettysburg Hotel to hear former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum speak after finishing second in the Illinois primary.  “We won the areas that conservatives and Republicans populate, and we’re very happy about that,” said Santorum about the Illinois results.  "We’re happy about the delegates we’re going to get, too.”

A Dauphin County judge will decide how long former House Speaker John Perzel and others will go to prison for corruption crimes, if they go at all.  Rick Santorum will watch Illinois primary returns in Gettysburg this evening, writes the Evening Sun, and the Citizens’ Voice checks in on which counties are deciding to levy a Marcellus Shale impact fee.  

(Gettysburg) -- More people are expected to visit the site of the Battle of Gettysburg as the 150th anniversary of that Civil War conflict draws closer. Gettysburg National Military Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon says it's part of a growing trend in attendance. Lawhon says nearly 1.2 million visitors came to the park in 2011, an increase of about 120,000 since 2010. She says important observances of the July 1863 battle usually see a swell in people at the Adams County park. "I just know it's going to be busy. The National Park Service, we really try not to forecast visitation," she says. "But I can tell you on a busy battle anniversary day, one of your classic, sort of, July first, second, or thirds, we often already, right now, get 10,000 people." Lawhon says the park has been planning events and working with the borough of Gettysburg to provide efficient transportation for visitors next year. In addition, a recent study conducted by the National Park Service shows visitors spent about $63.5 million when they visited the region in 2010 and supported more than 1,000 jobs. Lawhon says the park saw an eight percent increase in visitors from 2010 to 2011.

(Harrisburg) -- Tax credits, donations and a combination of public and private financing are helping to get a new Civil War museum in Gettysburg off the ground. Nearly $14.5 million of the financing for the Seminary Ridge Museum is coming from the Commonwealth Cornerstone Group, which is part of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. Agency spokesman Scott Elliott says the goal is to create jobs through state support. "One-hundred-fifty construction jobs during the rehabilitation of the building, and then once the museum is operational, there's going to be a staff of 13 running the museum," Elliott says. "We expect there will be some spin-off jobs, probably about 30 jobs created in the community, due to the increased tourism traffic," he says. Elliott says the project is estimated to generate $23 million in the region during the construction period. The museum is designed to tell lesser-known stories of the famous three-day Civil War battle. The exhibits will be housed in the Lutheran Theological Seminary's Schmucker Hall, which played a pivotal role as a lookout and hospital in the July, 1863 battle.