Pennsylvania Route 97 (Adams County)

Pennsylvania Route 97
Pennsylvania Route 97 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by PennDOT
Length	9.363 mi[1] (15.068 km)
Existed	1979–present
Major junctions
South end	MD 97 near Littlestown
Major intersections	PA 194 in Littlestown
North end	US 15 near Gettysburg
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	Adams
Highway system
Pennsylvania State Route System Interstate US State Scenic Legislative
← PA 96 → PA 98

Pennsylvania Route 97 (PA 97) is one of two Pennsylvania state highways that carries the PA 97 designation; the other PA 97 is in Erie County. This southern PA 97, known for most of its length as Baltimore Pike, runs 9.363 miles (15.068 km) from the Maryland state line near Littlestown, where the highway continues as Maryland Route 97 (MD 97), northwest to U.S. Route 15 (US 15) near Gettysburg. PA 97 connects Gettysburg and Littlestown in southeastern Adams County. The highway also links those communities with Westminster and Baltimore. From PA 97's northern end, Baltimore Pike continues toward Gettysburg as State Route 2035 (SR 2035) through the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District, where it provides access to the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center.

Baltimore Pike was built as a turnpike in the early 19th century to connect Gettysburg, Littlestown, and Baltimore. The turnpike was a prominent linear feature during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg despite not being the focus of a particular skirmish. Baltimore Pike was designated one of the original legislative routes in the early 1910s and became the northernmost part of US 140 in the late 1920s. The U.S. Highway was widened and resurfaced in the 1940s. When the US 140 designation was retired in the late 1970s, the highway became PA 97 to match the adjacent Maryland highway. With the creation of PA 97, the route had its northern terminus at the US 15 interchange while Baltimore Pike north of there became unnumbered.