EPHRAIM BLAINE, WASHINGTONBURG, AND TWO MILE HOUSE.

Ephraim Blaine was born in 1741 in Londonderry in the Kingdom of Ireland. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1745 with his parents and settled in Toboyne Township, then in Cumberland but today in Perry County. He was commissioned an Ensign in the Royal American Regiment and served with distinction at Fort Ligonier as commanding Lieutenant during the French and Indian War. After the war he settled in Carlisle and focused on commercial activities in the Indian trade, with mills, etc., until his election as Sheriffof CumberlandCounty. He lived at the house still standing at 4North Hanover Street, next to the First Presbyterian Church where he worshipped. As tensions with the British increased, he was once again commissioned a Lieutenant, this time of a Company of Associators. As a result of the closing of the Port of Boston, the citizens of Carlisle, including Ephraim Blaine, Francis Allison, John Armstrong, Robert Callendar, Jonathan Hoge, and James Wilson, met at the First Presbyterian Church on July 12th, 1774, to denounce the tyranny of the British in what is sometimes called the “Carlisle Declaration of Independence”. As a result, Ephraim Blaine was appointed to a Committee of Correspondence. During this time he was also engaged in diplomatic efforts with the Indians. He went on to serve as Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel of Cumberland County Battalions of Militia. He was further appointed County Lieutenant and subsequently Commissary, then Deputy Commissary General of Purchases, and finally Commissary General, by Congress. During the American Revolution Washingtonburg served as the main source of ordnance and commissary supply for the Continental Army during the Mid-Atlantic Campaign. In the late 18th century, Ephraim Blaine owned the property upon which Two Mile House was erected. It is believed that the kitchen and an adjacent section of the dwelling date to the ownership of Ephraim Blaine, but proof remains lacking. The Georgian stone architecture dates to circa 1820 and is currently in the possession of the Cumberland County Historical Society.