Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Coordinates: 39°19′22″N 77°43′47″W / 39.32278°N 77.72972°W / 39.32278; -77.72972
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Map showing the location of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
LocationMaryland, Virginia, and West Virginia
Coordinates39°19′22″N 77°43′47″W / 39.32278°N 77.72972°W / 39.32278; -77.72972
Area3,660.73 acres (14.8144 km2)[1]
EstablishedJune 30, 1944 (1944-06-30)
Visitors407,008 (in 2022)[2]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteHarpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
LocationConfluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
NRHP reference No.66000041[3] (original)
16000238 (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Boundary increaseMay 10, 2016

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, originally Harpers Ferry National Monument, is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes the historic center of Harpers Ferry, notable as a key 19th-century industrial area and as the scene of John Brown's failed abolitionist uprising. It contains the most visited historic site in the state of West Virginia, John Brown's Fort.[4]

The park includes land in the

U.S. Congress in 1963. Consisting of almost 4,000 acres (16 km2), it includes the site of which Thomas Jefferson once wrote, "The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature" after visiting the area in 1783.[5] Due to a mixture of historical events and ample recreational opportunities, all within 50 miles (80 km) of Washington, D.C., the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[6] In 2017, the Park's Superintendent was Tyrone Brandyburg.[7]

The park was originally planned as a memorial to John Brown, responsible for what is by far the most famous incident in Harpers Ferry's history, his 1859 raid and capture of the federal armory. NPS officials in the 1930s focused on John Brown's raid and the Civil War to justify acquiring parts of Harpers Ferry for a historical and military park. Like the figure of John Brown himself, this proved enormously controversial, with opposition from organizations such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.[8]: 86 

Early history

Virginia legislature
in 1751. Note that prior to 1863, West Virginia was still a part of Virginia. The town was originally known as Shenandoah Falls at Mr. Harper's Ferry (1763) due to the ferry business Robert Harper managed and operated.

Today, the original house built by Robert Harper is the oldest remaining structure in the lower part of the park. George Washington visited the area during his trip to the rivers' confluence in 1785, searching for a waterway to ship goods westward. Later, Washington began the construction of the federal Harpers Ferry Armory on the site, utilizing waterpower from the rivers for manufacturing purposes.

U.S. Army in 1855. Employing at times up to 400 workers, the armory produced over half a million muskets and rifles
between 1801 and 1860.

John Brown's raid and the American Civil War

Harper's Weekly illustration of U.S. Marines attacking John Brown's "Fort"
Main article: John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry

Abolitionist

Marines (led by U.S. Army Colonel Robert E. Lee), Brown was hanged, predicting in his last words that civil war was looming on the horizon, a prediction that came true less than two years later. The most important building remaining from John Brown's raid is the firehouse, now called John Brown's Fort
, where he resisted the Marines.

John Brown's Fort today

The

P.G.T. Beauregard at the First Battle of Bull Run. Union troops returned in force, occupying the town and began to rebuild parts of the armory. Stonewall Jackson, now a major general, returned in September 1862 under orders from Robert E. Lee to retake the arsenal and then to join Lee's army north in Maryland. Jackson's assault on the Federal forces there, during the Battle of Harpers Ferry
led to the capitulation of 12,500 Union troops, which was the largest number of Union prisoners taken at one time during the war. The town exchanged hands several more times over the next two years.

Storer College

Storer College postcard (1910)
Main article: Storer College

Storer College was built in Harpers Ferry as one of the first

African American leaders such as Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois to hold the second Niagara Movement (ancestor of the NAACP) conference at the school in 1906 to discuss ways to peacefully combat legalized discrimination and segregation. After the end of school segregation in 1954, Storer College closed the following year. What remains of the Storer College campus is now administered by the National Park Service, as part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry Center, and the Stephen T. Mather Training Center.[10]

The park today

A panoramic image of the Shenandoah River and the Potomac Railroad Bridge at Harpers Ferry


Several historical museums now occupy restored 19th century buildings in the Lower Town Historic District of Harpers Ferry. Nearly half a million people visit the park each year.

whitewater rafting as well as hiking, with the Appalachian Trail passing right through the park. The park adjoins the Harpers Ferry Historic District, as well as two other National Register of Historic Places locations: St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church and the B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing
. On June 6, 2016, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was featured on the third 2016 release of the
America the Beautiful Quarters
series. In the middle of the quarter is a depiction of John Brown's Fort, while the outside has the year (2016), location (Harpers Ferry), and the state (West Virginia). This specific coin is the 33rd park quarter to be released in the America the Beautiful Park Quarter series.

The

Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 542 acres (2.19 km2) of the battlefield in nine acquisitions.[13] Most of that land has been sold or conveyed to the National Park Service
and incorporated into the park.

Lower town sites

Overview of the Lower Town, looking toward Maryland Heights
Recreation of a 19th-century gun-making shop

The Lower Town points of interest are clustered where the Shenandoah River meets the Potomac River, and run along Shenandoah Street, Potomac Street and High Street.

  • Information Center
  • Restoration Museum
  • Frankel's Clothing Store
  • Industry Museum
  • Bookshop
  • Blacksmith Shop
  • Hamilton Street
  • A Place in Time Museum
  • Provost Marshal Office
  • Stipes’ Boarding House
  • Dry Goods Store
  • Arsenal Square
  • John Brown's Fort
  • The Point
  • John Brown Museum
  • Wetlands Museum
  • Storer College/Niagara Movement Museum
  • A. Burton Clocks and Jewelry Exhibit
  • 1862 Battle of Harpers
  • Ferry Museum
  • Confectionery Exhibit
  • Civil War Museum
  • Black Voices Museum
  • White Hall Tavern
  • Meriwether Lewis Exhibit
  • Harper House
  • Jefferson Rock
  • Harper Cemetery

Virginius Island

Main article: Virginius Island, West Virginia

Virginius Island was a thriving, water-powered manufacturing center before the Civil War. Economically it was always part of Harpers Ferry, and the Harpers Ferry station of the Winchester and Potomac Railroad was on Virginius Island, through which its track ran; the rail line, although rebuilt, is still in daily use. It was a working-class community. The island's industries declined after the Civil War, and successive floods destroyed the industries. After the flood of 1936 no structure remained standing and there were no remaining residents.

The National Park Service has studied the industrial and sociological history of Virginius Island in depth. Many ruins have been stabilized and signed, footbridges and paths maintained. It can be visited on a walking tour.

Gallery

  • Harpers Ferry entry sign
    Harpers Ferry entry sign
  • High Street, looking north (downhill) towards the Potomac River and Maryland
    High Street, looking north (downhill) towards the Potomac River and Maryland
  • Shenandoah Street and Lower Town, looking south (uphill) towards West Virginia
    Shenandoah Street and Lower Town, looking south (uphill) towards West Virginia
  • White Hall Tavern
    White Hall Tavern
  • White Hall Tavern
    White Hall Tavern
  • St. Peter's Catholic Church
    St. Peter's Catholic Church
  • The Dry Goods Store
    The Dry Goods Store
  • Wetlands Exhibit
    Wetlands Exhibit
  • The CSX railroad bridge crosses the Potomac River on the edge of the park
    The CSX railroad bridge crosses the Potomac River on the edge of the park
  • View from Jefferson Rock
    View from Jefferson Rock
  • View from Maryland Heights
    View from Maryland Heights

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-06-16. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  2. ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System – (#66000041)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "John Brown". e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. December 5, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (1829). Notes on the State of Virginia, p. 17. Wells and Lilly, Boston.
  6. ^ Snell, Charles W.; Mackintosh, Barry (June 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park". National Park Service. With accompanying 114 photos
  7. ^ Quigley, Aiden (April 3, 2017). "Spicer: Trump donating first-quarter salary to National Park Service". Politico. Retrieved April 3, 2017. At the start of the daily White House press briefing, Spicer handed a check for $78,333.32 to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Tyrone Brandyburg, the superintendent of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia.
  8. OCLC 1058473018
    .
  9. ^ "Storer College Site Bulletin" (PDF). NPS. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  10. ^ "Storer College". Harpers Ferry NHP. National Park Service. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  11. ^ "Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Your Dollars At Work". National Park Service. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  12. ^ "Washington, DC, Facts". Washington DC Go!. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  13. ^ [1] American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.

Further reading

External links

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