Originally part of Virginia, the small town of Harpers Ferry has been part of West Virginia since 1863. In 1859 Harpers Ferry was the site of a bloody raid by the abolitionist John Brown. The town was also a major Civil War battleground.
Places of interest
Harpers Ferry lies in a gap in the Blue Ridge Mountains, at the meeting point of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. The town is part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Museums and monuments there explain the region's history.
From 1869 to 1955 Storer College was located in Harpers Ferry. Storer was one of the first colleges to admit both blacks and whites and both women and men. Today the National Park Service uses the college as a training center.
History
Harpers Ferry was named for Robert Harper, who settled there in 1734 and established a ferryboat service across the Potomac. After the American Revolution, the new U.S. government chose Harpers Ferry as the site of an armory (a place to make and store weapons). The town quickly became a center for the manufacture of weapons. Weapons manufacturing in turn created a need for transportation. By 1830 two major railroads and a canal came together at Harpers Ferry.
John Brown's raid
Harpers Ferry gained lasting fame as the site of John Brown's raid in 1859. Brown was a white antislavery activist. He believed that the only way to end slavery in the United States was to lead an armed revolution. Brown staged his rebellion at Harpers Ferry, with the Blue Ridge Mountains at his army's back. He hoped that slaves would turn out to support him.
On October 16, 1859, Brown and his army of 21 men (16 whites and five blacks) entered Harpers Ferry. They cut telegraph wires to prevent anyone from sending for help. They took over the armory and took 60 hostages. The local militia surrounded Brown's army. Within 36 hours the militia and some U.S. Marines had killed or captured most of Brown's men. Brown was convicted of treason and hanged.
The raid was a failure, but it made headlines all over the nation. Many people in the North admired Brown for his stand against slavery.
Civil War
During the Civil War both the Union (Northern) and Confederate (Southern) armies wanted to control Harpers Ferry. First one army seized it. Then the other attacked and took it back. The town switched sides eight times during the war.
In 1862 Confederates under General Stonewall Jackson captured the town. Jackson took more than 12,500 prisoners. It was the largest surrender by the Union Army in the war.
After the Civil War the armory, which had been burned by both armies, never reopened. The town stayed part of the state of West Virginia, which had separated from Virginia during the war. Population (2000 census), 307.