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John Brown Fort
Here is a building with a curious past. Since its construction in 1848, it has been vandalized, dismantled, and moved four times -- all because of its fame as John Brown's stronghold.
The Fort's "Movements"
1848 Built as fire-engine house for US Armory
1859 Serves as stronghold for John Brown and his raiders
1861-1865 Escapes destruction during Civil War (only armory building to do so), but is vandalized by souvenir-hunting Union and Confederate soldiers and later travelers.
1891 Dismantled and transported to Chicago Exposition.
1895 Rescued from conversion to stable and brought back to Harpers Ferry area to be exhibited on a farm.
1909 Purchased by Storer College and moved to campus.
1968 Moved by National Park Service to within 150 feet of its original location.
On October 16, 1859, the abolitionist John Brown and his men attacked Harpers Ferry. By the following afternoon the local militia had penned the raiders in this building. United States Marines stormed the building at dawn on the 18th and captured Brown. Convicted of murder, treason, and inciting slaves to rebellion, he was hanged in nearby Charles Town on December 2, 1859. |