“Harper’s Ferry, WV.” West Virginia Tourism, 11 Nov. 2015, wvtourism.com/release/harpers-ferry/.
Hidden amongst the mountains of northeastern West Virginia, a town where history and nature live together calls out to adventurers everywhere. Sprawling trails, rich histories, and beautiful scenery draws tourists year round, but most visit in July with June and August coming in close second on the busyness scale. This location, which saw quite a few of America’s well-known historical moments, is waiting for you to take a step back in time and explore. Welcome to Harpers Ferry.
The history of this tiny town starts many years ago, just shy of half a century before America, and thus saw many of the country’s firsts. Stories that the town and young America are intertwined in are those such as the famous John Brown raid which resulted in his capture and later trail, sentencing, and hanging in Charles Town, WV. Another well-known event, the Civil War, in which the armory and arsenal that once stood there were burned by the Union soldiers in an attempt at keeping the Confederates from accessing it, has stout roots in the area of Harper’s Ferry.
As mentioned before, the United State’s Armory & Arsenal (established in 1799) was what turned Harpers Ferry from a remote river village into an industrial center. “Between 1801 and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the Armory produced more than 600,000 muskets, rifles, and pistols, and employed, at times, over 400 workers.” (“Stories.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2017, www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/stories.htm.) This location pioneered the switch to manufacturing interlocking rifle parts by machine, which was created by inventor John H. Hall.
The railroad that still operates and runs through Harpers Ferry was started by the convergence of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Winchester & Potomac Railroad, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. These modes of transportation made available reduced travel times from days to hours. This move also brought new people to settle in Harpers Ferry, as the Irish & German laborers who built the rails put down roots in the area.
For as much rich history as Harpers Ferry has to offer, the nature and scenery are something else entirely. Animal species at the national park include “…14 amphibian, 18 reptile, 36 mammal, 30 spider, 43 fish, 174 bird, and 276 insect species.” (“Animals.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 2015, www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/nature/animals.htm.) Plant species include lip fern, greenish sedge, chestnut oak, and red maple dot the landscape of the park, giving way to some of the most breathtaking pictures and views West Virginia has to offer.
“Leaving Harpers Ferry.” Virginia Trail Guide, 6 June 2016, virginiatrailguide.com/2015/06/06/appalachian-trail-harpers-ferry-to-bears-den-rocks/.
Whether visiting for the history, nature, or beautiful scenery, Harpers Ferry has something for everyone. You can find out more about Harpers Ferry at https://www.nps.gov/hafe/index.htm. Take the time to look through the collections of photos, read the articles and plan your own trip to the breath-taking location.
