One of my favorite towns in West Virginia is Harpers Ferry. The town is so different from Washington DC that it’s hard to imagine it’s only an hour away! In a nation with major cities constantly rising to support a booming population, Harpers Ferry somehow maintained its tiny population of only 300 people over the past two centuries. Its history goes way back to the first president when George Washington saw the strategic importance of Harpers Ferry. He determined it would be a good location to build weapons by taking advantage of mills to be constructed along the rivers. Harpers Ferry’s most significant historical event took place over a hundred years later. Harpers Ferry continued to manufacture weapons for the US government and an abolitionist led a team of over 20 people to violently take over the town’s armory. When the Civil War was fought over a decade later, Harpers Ferry found itself in content battle. Its citizens found themselves switching under control between the Union and the Confederates over eight times! Above are two photos of Harpers Ferry’s historic downtown with many of these buildings being free museums. Below are two photos from the same area, but taken during the summer.
The entire town is basically an open air museum. I had been to Harpers Ferry years ago but when I later returned on this trip I forgot how scenic the town is. Above are below are some photos from some of the housing in the town.
The story of John is well told in the town’s wax museum. The museum has several different rooms each showing a moment in John Brown’s life. On the left is his childhood which would have taken place in the early 1800s. John Brown had become friends with many slaves his age and had always been shocked to see slaves treated so poorly. His resentment towards slavery only grew as he became older but it wasn’t until his middle ages that he decided to take things into his own hands. He initially began his uprising by attacking slave owners and killing them as seen in the upper right photo.
John Brown’s plans were very ambitious and he wasted no time beginning his rebellion when he was ready. His entire strategy relied on successfully capturing the US armory in Harpers Ferry. This would supply him the necessary weapons and ammunition he would need to fight the US government His was successful in capturing the armory but his rebellion was short lived. General Robert E Lee was sent to recapture the armory from John Brown. The entire ordeal ended in less than 48 hours after it began, with John Brown wounded and many of his comrades killed. Above shows John Brown holding his son who was mortally wounded in the battle. John Brown was nursed back to health until he was found guilty of treason by the courts. The final display in the was museum shows John Brown being led to his death.
Some African Americans were already living free from slavery in West Virginia in the mid 19th century. After the civil war all of them found themselves free. The African American history museum is one of the many museums that was free in Harpers Ferry. There’s a lot of information here. One of the first things I saw when I entered was several photos of a family that have lived in the town for almost 200 years!
Despite how small Harpers Ferry is, the town is packed with nice restaurants, shops, bars, and several ice cream shops. On the left is a fair trade store that sells souvenirs of West Virginia and other products from all over the world. On the right is a photo from another store that had some interesting apparel for wine bottles.
Most places seem to be doing fairly well, but there were a few abandoned houses throughout the town. Many even Harpers Ferry fell victim to the housing crisis. Some of homes that were left behind look a bit spooky, and the entire town can as well during the night. I should also mention there are many ghost tours available here!
Harpers Ferry location was chosen because it lies where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet. There is a nice look out within the town where I took the photo on the upper left of the Potomac. The photo on the right shows the Shenandoah which was taken from a popular nearby hike.
The world famous Appalachian Trail, which is the world’s longest foot trail, passes right through Harpers Ferry. You’ll see lots of advertisements for it here in the town as well as plenty of shops and places for hikers to resupply themselves. On the left is a photo that shows a collage of AT markers that are found from Maine to Georgia. The bridge above is actually part of the Appalachian Trail as well as it crosses from West Virginia to Maryland.
I should also mention that from the edge of town along the rivers you can see people up on the cliffs enjoying a nice view of the town. I went there the next morning and took this picture of the town’s church on the upper right.
Right outside of Harpers Ferry on the Maryland side of the river is a short hike you can do to get some great views of the town. For the proper sunlight, you’ll want to be here in the morning which I accomplished by pitching a tent in the woods close to the look out point. A ranger came by and told me it was illegal to camp, but since I was obviously not up to anything bad he said he would look the other way provided I picked up my camp early in the morning and left no signs of it. I was at the look out just after sun rise only to find that half the town was still in shadow because of the nearby mountains blocking the sun. I waited around for almost an hour until the light covered all of Harpers Ferry. Above is a photo of the town from the lookout point, on the right is a zoomed in shot.
