Existing comment:
Traffic Arrives by Barge, Bridge, Trestle, and Tin Lizzie:
Harpers Ferry's first "ferry" was probably little more than a canoe, paddled by Native Americans, or by the area's only European resident in the 1730s. Ninety years later, people and cargo still had to be ferried in and out of a growing town with a hotel, seven stores, and numerous mills and government buildings. To boost the economy, local landowners commissioned Lewis Wernag, a famous Philadelphia bridge builder, to construct the first Potomac bridge. Its opening in 1828 marked the beginning of a transportation boom at Harpers Ferry. During the 1830s two railroads and a major canal would connect Harpers Ferry with the rest of the country. By the 1920s and 30s, tourists were arriving not just by train but by "tin lizzies," or automobiles. |