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| Harpers Ferry National Historical Park | |
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| Location | Maryland,Virginia, andWest Virginia |
| Coordinates | 39°19′22″N77°43′47″W / 39.32278°N 77.72972°W /39.32278; -77.72972 |
| Area | 3,660.73 acres (14.8144 km2)[1] |
| Established | June 30, 1944 (1944-06-30) |
| Visitors | 407,008 (in 2022)[2] |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Harpers Ferry National Historical Park |
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park | |
| Location | Confluence of thePotomac andShenandoah rivers Harpers Ferry, West Virginia |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000041[3] (original) 16000238 (increase) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Boundary increase | May 10, 2016 |
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, originallyHarpers Ferry National Monument, is located at theconfluence of thePotomac andShenandoah rivers in and aroundHarpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes the historic center of Harpers Ferry, notable as a key 19th-century industrial area and as the scene ofJohn Brown's failedabolitionist uprising. It contains the most visited historic site in the state of West Virginia,John Brown's Fort.[4]
The park includes land in theShenandoah Valley inJefferson County,West Virginia;Washington County,Maryland andLoudoun County,Virginia. The park is managed by theNational Park Service, an agency of theU.S. Department of the Interior. Originally designated Harpers FerryNational Monument in 1944, the park was declared aNational Historical Park by theU.S. Congress in 1963. Consisting of almost 4,000 acres (16 km2), it includes the site of whichThomas 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) ofWashington, D.C., the park was listed on theNational 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 toJohn 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. This was opposed by organizations such as theUnited Daughters of the Confederacy and theSons of Confederate Veterans.[8]: 86
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Native American history in the region dates back to at least 8,000 years ago. TheTuscarora people were the last of the native peoples known to inhabit the area in large numbers, essentially vanishing in the early 18th century. One of these European immigrants, Robert Harper, obtained a patent for the land from theVirginia legislature in 1751 as 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 federalHarpers Ferry Armory on the site, utilizing waterpower from the rivers formanufacturing purposes.
Meriwether Lewis, under government contract, procured most of the weaponry and associated hardware that would be needed for theLewis and Clark Expedition at the armory in Harpers Ferry.Blacksmiths also built a collapsible iron boat frame for the expedition. Between the years 1820 to 1840, John H. Hall worked to perfect the manufacturing ofinterchangeable parts at the armory.[citation needed] Utilizing precision molds and jigs, this was one of the birthplaces of precision manufacturing so that armaments and related mechanical equipment could be standardized and parts would be interchangeable. Subsequently, the development of the modernbullet to replace the round leadslug was achieved by James H. Burton and this improvement was adopted by theU.S. Army in 1855. Employing at times up to 400 workers, the armory produced over half a millionmuskets andrifles between 1801 and 1860.
AbolitionistJohn Brown led an armed group in the capture of the armory in 1859. Brown had hoped he would be able to arm the slaves and lead them against U.S. forces in a rebellion to overthrowslavery. After his capture in the armory by a group ofMarines (led by U.S. ArmyColonelRobert 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 calledJohn Brown's Fort, where he resisted the Marines.
TheAmerican Civil War (1861–1865) found Harpers Ferry right on the boundary between theUnion andConfederate forces. The strategic position along this border and the valuable manufacturing base was a coveted strategic goal for both sides, but particularly theSouth due to its lack of manufacturing centers. Consequently, the town exchanged hands no less than eight times during the course of the war. Union forces abandoned the town immediately after the state of Virginiaseceded from the Union, burning the armory and seizing 15,000 rifles. ColonelThomas J. Jackson, who would later become known as "Stonewall", secured the region for theConfederates a week later and shipped most of the manufacturing implements south. Jackson spent the next twomonths preparing his troops and buildingfortifications, but was ordered to withdraw south and east to assistP.G.T. Beauregard at theFirst Battle of Bull Run. Union troops returned in force, occupying the town and began to rebuild parts of the armory. Stonewall Jackson, now amajor 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 theBattle 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 was built in Harpers Ferry as one of the firstintegratedschools in the U.S.[9]Frederick Douglass served as a trustee of the college, and delivered a memorable oration on the subject of John Brown there in 1881. Subsequent rulings known asJim Crow Laws led otherAfrican American leaders such as Dr.W. E. B. Du Bois to hold the secondNiagara Movement (ancestor of theNAACP) conference at the school in 1906 to discuss ways to peacefully combat legalizeddiscrimination andsegregation. 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]
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.[11] (In comparison, 15 million people visit Washington, DC, each year.[12]) North of the park and across the Potomac fromHarpers Ferry is theChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The canal, which operated from 1828 to 1924, provided a vital waterway link with areas up and downstream prior to and during the early years after the arrival of the railroad. Today, the canal towpath and park, which provide access to theMaryland Heights section of the Harpers Ferry N.H.P., can be accessed by foot from Harpers Ferry via a footbridge constructed by the National Park Service alongside tracks on the railroad bridge over the Potomac, or via car by traveling east from Harpers Ferry onU.S. Route 340 to access points nearSandy Hook, Maryland. Aside from the extensive historical interests of the park, recreational opportunities include fishing, boating, andwhitewater rafting as well as hiking, with theAppalachian Trail passing right through the park. The park adjoins theHarpers Ferry Historic District, as well as two otherNational Register of Historic Places locations:St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church and theB & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing.On June 6, 2016, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was featured on the third 2016 release of theAmerica 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.
TheCivil War Trust (a division of theAmerican 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 theNational Park Service and incorporated into the park.
The park was listed in its entirety on theNational Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The designation was expanded on May 10, 2016.[3][14]
The Lower Town points of interest are clustered where theShenandoah River meets thePotomac River, and run along Shenandoah Street, Potomac Street and High Street.
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 theWinchester 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.
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.
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