The weather cooled a bit the past weekend and humidity dropped. Unfortunatetly, it’s warming up again, so we thought we might visit Harper’s Ferry today before the big heat and humidity returns. Our campground in Brunswick lies between the Potomac and the Canal. We drive about a mile down the towpath to reach the campground. The place is a dust bowl. Virtually no grass and dust covers everything. I doubt they have seen rain here in months.
Brunswick is like railroad central, so there are constant trains that travel tracks on the other side of the Canal. You see them, feel them, and hear them. Fortunately they do not blow whistles at night. We have to cross the tracks to get to our entrance road. This evening we waited over 1/2 hour for the track to clear to get back to the campground. Not going to miss this place after we leave.
Harper’s Ferry is a triangle of land formed by the convergence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. It is low lying land and has flooded at least a dozen times, but is felt to be a strategic location due to its proximety to goods, transportation, and Washington DC. It was an industrial center up to the 1850s. During the Civil War it changed hands 8 times! But, between the floods and the War, Harper’s Ferry was pretty much a ruins. The Government stepped in, made it a National Park 1944, and is in the process of restoring it. There is history here, from George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the most well known, John Brown.
However, we question if it really is money properly spent. Just because George and Tom walked around here, does that make it significant? In 1859 John Brown came into town, then part of Virginia, to free the slaves here. A 3 day fight ensued with Brown and his “army” being captured or killed. Brown was found guilty of murder, treason, and messing with slave freedom. He was hung a month later.
It is felt his action and resultant execution was one of the larger events that started the War. Most of the buildings here are reproductions. The fire house building Brown holed up in has been moved 4 times, but now resides in its original location, but has had major reconstruction.
Check out the yardstick to the left. I shows the water levels and dates of the floods here.
A steep 2 block climb takes you up to high town, where most of todays 300 residents live. The view of the Shenandoah River is pretty cool. This picture was taken by a young lady (25 ish) from Chicago who was bicycling from Pittsburgh to Washington, by herself!! Her trip was nearly complete.
The NPS has done a good job in telling the story about Harper’s Ferry. Probably not worth a special visit, but if in the area, it is a worthwhile stop.
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