Dickinson School of Law
Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Oldest law school in Pennsylvania; founded in 1834 by the Honorable John Reed, eminent jurist, and author of "Pennsylvania Blackstone." Andrew Curtin, Civil War Governor, was one of earliest graduates.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Founded in 1834 by the jurist John Reed — author of the influential "Pennsylvania Blackstone" — Dickinson School of Law became the oldest law school in Pennsylvania and one of the earliest in the nation. In an era when most lawyers still trained by apprenticeship, a formal school of law was a bold experiment in professional education. Among its early graduates was Andrew Curtin, who would serve as Pennsylvania's Civil War governor.
Why it matters
It reflects the young republic's drive to professionalize and systematize American law, shaping generations of jurists and public leaders.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Appalachian Trail Museum12.9 mi away
- Ye Olde Sulphur Spa Historical Society13.6 mi away
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Related people
- · John Reed
- · Andrew Curtin
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA · est. 1947
In the hopeful years just after independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush — a signer of the Declaration — imagined a practical, liberal-arts education fit for a self-governing people, and with Col. John Montgomery of Carlisle he founded a college to train future leaders. Chartered on September 9, 1783 and named for John Dickinson, it became the first college established west of the Susquehanna River. The school embodied the founders' belief that a republic could only survive with an educated citizenry.
James Wilson
Carlisle, PA · est. 1949
James Wilson rose from a Carlisle law office to become one of the most consequential legal minds of the founding generation. As a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress he signed the Declaration of Independence, and at the Constitutional Convention he was among the principal architects of the framework that still governs the nation. He later served on the first U.S. Supreme Court.
John Bannister Gibson
Carlisle, PA · est. 1949
John Bannister Gibson lived here through the decades when American law was still taking shape, and few did more to shape it. He sat on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for some 37 years, serving 24 of them as Chief Justice, and his written opinions and legal works were studied far beyond the state. He remained in this house from about 1820 until his death in 1853.
Marianne Moore (1887-1972)
Carlisle, PA · est. 2002
The poet Marianne Moore spent her formative childhood and school years in Carlisle, living here from 1896 to 1916. Known for her precise eye, wit, and fiercely independent voice, she went on to become one of America's most honored modern poets — an editor and essayist as well — winning the Pulitzer Prize, the Bollingen Prize, and the National Book Award. Her distinctive style helped define 20th-century American verse.