BGuthrie Photos: WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Downtown Visitor Center

WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Downtown Visitor Center:

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. HARPVC_120408_002.JPG: What is Harpers Ferry? In this room, you will get a brief overview of six stories: Natural Heritage, Transportation, Industry, African-American History, John Brown and the Civil War. These stories weave through the unique saga of Harpers Ferry. The connection between those stories provides the key to understanding Harpers Ferry's place in history.
2. HARPVC_120408_005.JPG: Natural Heritage: The landscape shaped the history of Harpers Ferry. The people that came here found a valley rich in natural resources. Generous deposits of iron ore and limestone, vast hardwood forests, and abundant water power attracted numerous industries. The water gap through the mountains provided an avenue for travel from east to west. Located within the gap, Harpers Ferry became the center of a busy transportation corridor. The town grew steadily until 1861, when the mountainous terrain provided a stage for civil war. Numerous floods prolonged the struggle to rebuild following the war; but the landscape survived -- a landscape that influenced a series of events unsurpassed in American history.
3. HARPVC_120408_008.JPG: Transportation: Millions of years ago, geologic fores created an opening in the Blue Ridge mountains. This water gap provided a passageway for footpaths, canoes, ferries, canals and railroads. As the country expanded westward, a steady stream of people funneled through the gap. In the 1820s, the C&O Canal and the B&O Railroad competed for business along the river corridor. Harpers Ferry thrived as travel improved dramatically, markets expanded and immigrant laborers settled in the area. Today, bridge ruins and empty canals contrast with modern highways and railroads as a testament to the evolution of transportation in America.
4. HARPVC_120408_012.JPG: Belt-driven grindstones removed rough edges and tool marks from musket and rifle barrels. Occasionally a grindstone would shatter, killing workmen hit by the flying debris.
5. HARPVC_120408_017.JPG: Harpers Ferry: Where the stories can be found "Harpers Ferry" is many stories in many different places. More than just the small town, Harpers Ferry is Maryland, Loudoun, Cavalier and Bolivar Heights along with Camp Hill, Virginius Island and the Lower Town. The following rooms will lead to the places where the stories are found.
6. HARPVC_120408_027.JPG: B&O RR Co. 1872 -- Note embossed lettering on rail side This piece of track, manufactured for the B&O Railroad i 1872, was found on Virginius Island.
7. HARPVC_120408_044.JPG: The transportation story at Harpers Ferry began with the water gap through he Blue Ridge Mountains, which provided a rare passageway through the hills. Native peoples traveling through the gap were soon followed by European explorers, canal boat captains and railroad workers. The transportation story continued beyond the gap and the lower town area as the population grew. Gundalow crews navigated around Virginius Island. People traveled through town and over Cavalier Heights and Bolivar Heights on some of the first hard surface turnpikes in the country. Tourists arrived on the train to visit the amusements on Island Park in the Potomac, and to spend summers relaxing in the Lockwood House on Camp Hill. Today, hundreds of automobiles roll by on modern highways that follow a proven path through history.
8. HARPVC_120408_055.JPG: Industry: "A most abominable little village...the smell of coal smoke and the clanking of hammers obtrude themselves on the senses... ' - -- Thomas Gather, tourist, 1836 Industry in Harpers Ferry thrived on the abundant water power, the convenient transportation facilities and the ample supply of raw materials. Factories lining the river shorelines and canals of Lower Town and Virginius Island competed for rights to water power. Eventually heavy industry disappeared and was replaced by a new enterprise -- tourism. The tourism industry took over in the late 1800s, luring visitors to Island Park and Camp Hill. Today, visitors arrive to enjoy modern comforts among the ruins of an industrial past.
9. HARPVC_120408_065.JPG: Wherever you go in Harpers Ferry, you will discover connections between the land and the people. The rocks determine the lay of the land and the course of the rivers, thus dictating where people would live and how the history would unfold. The rivers ruled Lower Town and Virginius Island, providing the energy for business, and then destroying that industry with floods. Canals and railroads skirted the hills and clung to the water's edge. The canals had to have the water, while the trains were faster and safer on higher ground. The high ground on Camp Hill, Maryland, Loudoun, Bolivar, and Cavalier Heights figured in the strategy of war and gave residents a place of refuge from recurring floods. Take note of the sites you visit and see how each one affected the stories that occurred here.
10. HARPVC_120408_068.JPG: The Civil War: In 1860 Harpers Ferry was a thriving industrial community, by 1861 it was a prize of war. Virginia seceded from the Union on April 17, 1861. within twenty four hours retreating federal troops had torched the U.S. Armory and southern forces had taken control of the town. Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded the town in September of 1862. His capture of the Union garrison of 12,500 min was the largest surrender of Federal forces during the war. In August 1864, thousands of Federal troops massed at Harpers Ferry. From this staging ground, Union General Philip Sheridan orchestrated the Union offensive that defeated the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Surrender on April 9, 1865 ended the war. The fighting was over, but suffering continued. The town had changed hands eight times resulting in the destruction of industries, homes and lives. Harpers Ferry had paid the price of war.
11. HARPVC_120408_074.JPG: African-American History: African-American roots are deeply entrenched in the history of Harpers Ferry. Some of the people are well known, John Brown, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois, while others have been identified only through careful research. Beck, a black woman, arrived in 1747 with the town's founder, Robert Harper. She was his slave. While little else is known of her life, Beck was the beginning of African-American history in Harpers Ferry. There are many other stories filled with struggle and triumph reaching back more than 250 years. Slavery, the fight for freedom, education at Storer College and the Niagara Movement's struggle for equality are part of Harpers Ferry. These stories belong to all Americans.
12. HARPVC_120408_082.JPG: Industry: Natural resources, limestone, iron ore, timber and water power were plentiful at Harpers Ferry. By the mid-1800 s it was a thriving factory town with a population of almost 3,000 people. The foundation for this development was the United States Armory, located here by George Washington. The Harpers Ferry Armory manufactured more than 600,000 muskets, rifles and pistols until the outbreak of the Civil War. Virginius Island, nestled along the Shenandoah River, was home to a number of industries, including Hall's Rifle Works. Here, John Hall perfected interchangeable parts technology and inspired a world-wide revolution in manufacturing. Prosperity did not last. The destruction of the Civil War, a series of devastating floods and safer, more reliable sources of energy drew business away from Harpers Ferry and Virginius Island. Today, the factory ruins remind us of Harpers Ferry's contribution to America's Industrial Revolution.
13. HARPVC_120408_092.JPG: John Brown: John Brown may be the most controversial figure in Harpers Ferry history. On October 16, 1859, Brown and an army of twenty-one men seized the United States Armory. His plan to free slaves throughout the South had begun. Thirty-six hours later, US Marines captured Brown in the Armory fire engine house. The raid was over. Tried and found guilty of treason, murder and inciting slaves to rebel. Brown was sentenced to death by hanging. Front page news followed him to the gallows. Called a martyr by some, a madman by others, Brown aroused passions throughout the nation. The issue of slavery had been brought to the forefront. Civil War seemed inevitable.
14. HARPVC_120408_107.JPG: African Americans have always been a part of the Harpers Ferry story. As free people and as slaves, they helped build and work in the factories in Lower Town and on Virginius Island. During the Civil War, refugee slaves were pressed into service to build military fortifications on Maryland Heights. Storer College, established on Camp Hill after the war, educated many African Americans as they stepped out of the shadows of slavery. Storer provided a safe haven for its students and a local stage for the national struggle over equal rights.
15. HARPVC_120408_113.JPG: Civil War: From the edge of the rivers to the top of the heights, no corner of Harpers Ferry escaped the effects of the Civil War. Virginia's first military operation after secession started in Lower Town Harpers Ferry when militia seized the US Armory and Arsenal. The battles and the defenses involving the surrounding hillsides began immediately and continued till war's end. Almost every structure in Lower Town, on Camp Hill and on Virginius Island was occupied, damaged or destroyed by soldiers. In the words of local historian Joseph Barry, "No spot in the United States experienced more of the horrors of war."
16. HARPVC_120408_137.JPG: John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry: "Get on your arms. We will proceed to the ferry." On October 16, 1859, John Brown took the sleepy town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, completely by surprise. As his first move in a bid to end slavery, Brown ordered his followers to secure the bridges and seize the weapons factories in Lower Town and on Virginius Island. His "army of liberation" would then campaign south using Loudoun Heights to strike deeper into slave-holding country. Lower Town became the scene of chaos and violence as townspeople and militia cut off escape routes and engaged Brown's men. The raid ended on October 18, but the controversy had just begun.
17. HARPVC_120408_142.JPG: Harpers Ferry, 1859, as the town appeared at the time of John Brown
18. HARPVC_120408_146.JPG: Before and After photosimulation showing the effect of the proposed relocation of John Brown's Fort to its original location, as well as the construction of Musket Factory gates, after the removal of the 1892 railroad embankment. Note that the white color of perimeter wall is likely not historic, but a product of digital modeling. OCLP with digital imagery by Dirk DeVault.
19. HARPVC_120408_155.JPG: The Master Armorer's House: The second highest ranking official in the United States Armory once entertained guests in this room, the parlor of the Master Armorers house. Construction for this home was approved by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in 1850, and completed July 5, 1859 -- two days after John Brown secretly arrived in the area. Intended for Camp Hill, near the homes of the other Armory officials, the location was changed to this site so that one of the officers "could at all times be near the shops and stores." However, Master Armorer Benjamin Mills deemed the location unhealthy for his family, so the first occupant of the building was not a Master Armorer, but the Paymaster's Clerk, John Daingerfield. As a result, Daingerfield was taken hostage during John Brown's raid. Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee, commander of the United States Marines dispatched to capture Brown, took lodging in the home. During the Civil War, the building served as the headquarters for several different Union officers. In 1864 the swelling provided overnight accommodations for General Ulysses S. Grant. After 1865, the town leased it from the federal government for use as a schoolhouse and post office. Reclaimed by the government in 1884, the building was sold at a public auction and remained in private hands for over 70 years. Today, the Master Armorer's House has been restored to its 1859 appearance.
20. HARPVC_120408_164.JPG: The Birth of a National Park: Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was created because people cared. They recognized the significance of this area's natural and cultural history for the benefit of future generations. On June 30, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill establishing Harpers Ferry National Monument. This act assured the preservation and protection of the area, "its scenic beauty and historic landmarks." Through the years lands were added, boundaries changed and visitation increased. In 1963 President John F Kennedy signed legislation changing Harpers Ferry from a National Monument t a National Historical Park.
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AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
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Directly Related Pages: Other pages with content (WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Downtown Visitor Center) directly related to this one: [Display ALL photos on one page]:
- 2017_WV_Harpers_VC: WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Downtown Visitor Center (47 photos from 2017)
- 2014_WV_Harpers_VC: WV -- Harpers Ferry NHP -- Downtown Visitor Center (16 photos from 2014)
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(NPS) Harpers Ferry Natl Historic Park] [Display ALL (NPS) Harpers Ferry Natl Historic Park photos] [Civil War] [Museums (History)] [Park (National Park Service)]
2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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