West Virginia is the 3rd state of the 3 that we missed in our previous 14-month U.S.A. road trip. This state, in the Appalachian Mountains, is home to the town of Harpers Ferry. Many of the buildings look as they did in the 19th century and provide a living-history museum. Most noted about Harpers Ferry is that of John Brown’s raid.
To understand this town, it helps to know a little of its history. Situated in a gap of the Blue Ridge Mountains and at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, Harpers Ferry functioned as a natural avenue of transportation from its beginning.
The first mode of travel consisted of a primitive ferry established in 1733 which carried settlers and supplies across the waters until 1824.
A bridge was constructed across the Potomac making ferryboat operations unnecessary.
In less than a decade, the iron horse and the mule brought the transportation revolution to Harpers Ferry.
Having just visited the B&O Railroad in Baltimore, this history of the railroad here in Harpers Ferry is brought to life.
Rail transportation in the U.S. began in Baltimore on July 4, 1828. On the same day, President John Quincy Adams turned the first spade of earth along the Potomac River for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
The race began as the railroad and traditional canal struggled to become the first to connect the Ohio Valley with the east coast and Harpers Ferry was one of the first milestones of that race.
By 1834 both companies had completed construction to a point opposite Harpers Ferry. The Canal had won the race to this point, and it continued up the Maryland side of the Potomac.
The B&O Railroad crossed the Potomac at Harpers Ferry in 1837 and continued to push on. Business boomed in Harpers Ferry with the arrival of the railroad. It became a gateway to the Ohio Valley.
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| St. Peter’s Catholic Church |
The construction of the railroad brought an influx of Irish laborers into Harpers Ferry in the early 1830’s. St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, completed in 1833, represents the customs and religion of the early Irish immigrants.
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| White Hall Tavern |
White Hall Tavern, located directly across from the U.S. Armory, was a community gathering place in the 1850’s.
The United States Armory at Harpers Ferry produced more than 600,000 military rifles and muskets in a 60 year period, spanning from Thomas Jefferson's presidency to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. Weapons produced at the armory were the target of John Brown's Raid in October 1859.
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| John Brown's Fort |
During the Civil War, the Armory was destroyed, and its equipment removed; it was not rebuilt. The only surviving building is its former fire engine house, known today as John Brown's Fort.
These drawings portray John Brown’s raid in 1859, in which he attempted to use the town and the weapons in its Federal Armory as the base for a slave revolt.
Now that we’ve visited the 3rd of the three states we missed during our 14-month road trip, we’re heading back home. We are taking a VERY scenic route back, so stay tuned for next month’s adventures!
“Country
roads, take me home
To the place I belong … “John Denver
