West Virginia

Harpers Ferry is a restored 19th century town just loaded with history there are period costumed guides thru out the park. The park is broken up into six themes; Industry, Natural Heritage, Transportation, John Brown, The Civil War, and African American History. The story of John Brown grabbed our interest. I tried to give you a very brief bio of his story.



This old footbridge takes you to the C & O Canal and this is where the Potomac River and the Shenandoah River converge.


John Brown
John Brown believed he could free the slaves and he selected Harpers Ferry as his starting point he and 21 men which consisted of three of his sons, and five free African Americans seized the 100,000 weapons at the arsenal on the evening of Oct 16, 1859. Thirty six hours after the raid began with most of his men killed or wounded, Brown was captured in the armory fire engine house (below) when U. S. Marines stormed the building. Brown was brought to trial and was found guilty of treason against the Common Wealth of Virginia, conspiring with slaves to rebel and murder. He was hung on Dec 2, 1859. The attention that the trial and his execution drew raised the moral issue of slavery and headed the country toward civil war. Depending on who is doing the storytelling - Was John Brown the reason the civil war was started or did was this the real beginning of the civil war?? We were also told by the period costume guides that a lot of African Americans feel that this is their Independence Hall.