Existing comment:
A Place in Time: Harpers Ferry:
Streaming water has sculpted the land and life in this place. Striving generations have shaped the spirit of this town. A nation's struggles and the forces of nature have tested and tempered it. Today, Harpers Ferry bears the watermarks of time, and tells a wondrous tale.
The meeting of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers was first a signpost on footpaths and waterways of Native Americans and pioneers. Later, settlers built a bustling hub of rail and canal traffic at the rivers' junction, and harnessed waterpower for mills and factories. War and floods devastated the growing town; scenic beauty and historic significance rescued it.
Traces of Harpers Ferry's fluid history often lie hidden in the modern landscape. This exhibit offers clues to help unearth them.
"The scenery at Harpers Ferry is very grand... The Rivers Potomac and Shenandoah, meeting here, burst their way through a barrier of rock. Precipitous cliffs, crowned with dark pine wood, frown over the river on each side and form the pass to the lovely Valley of the Shenandoah..."
-- British traveler, 1836 |