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All Aboard: The Baltimore & Ohio Harpers Ferry Railroad Station:
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, conceived in the 1820s by the merchants of Baltimore as a way to capture a share of the burgeoning domestic trade with the west, reached Harpers Ferry in December 1836. The rumble of the train and the blast of the locomotive horn have echoed against the mountains for generations.
The Harpers Ferry Station symbolizes the growth and change of transportation at this riverside town. Constructed in 1894, the depot has been altered many times throughout the years. Designed by Architect E. Francis Baldwin, its original location overlooked the scenic confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers; however in 1931, as part of a series of railroad improvements, the station was moved to its current location. Designed in an age when it was deemed appropriate to shield women from the male population, the original station had two waiting rooms -- the women's with the fireplace and the men's on the other side of the ticket office.
The B&O promoted Harpers Ferry as a tourist spot. The town was a regular destination and departure point for numerous tourist excursion trains from 1880 to the 1930s. People flocked to Harpers Ferry for history, reunions, political conventions, religious retreats, hiking trips, and other special occasions. The B&O even purchased Brynes Island in the Potomac River, renamed it Island Park and created a summer resort with pavilions, a dining tent, refreshment stands, swings, and skating rink, merry-go-round, and Ferris wheel. In 1910 the Farmer's Advocate reported a crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 employees and family members of the B&O attended the company picnic on Island Park.
The 1930s saw a steady decline in rail passengers as the use of automobiles continued to rise. The "golden age" of railroading was fading from the American scene. The Harpers Ferry Station remained active, but the structure fell into disrepair and was named to the Top 10 Most Endangered Stations in America in 1999. Following four decades of on again, off again negotiation, the station and grounds of the US Armory were transferred to the National Park Service in 2001 and restoration of the station began. The Harpers Ferry Station has stood a sentinel to the community and its history -- a gateway to historic Harpers Ferry. |