Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. It is a stunningly beautiful place. Harpers Ferry is also the place where Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia converge. You can stand at the tip of Harpers Ferry in West Virginia, while gazing north at Maryland and south at Virginia. There is yet another confluence at Harpers Ferry – the C&O Canal towpath and the Appalachian Trail intersect here. In fact, the town is near the mid-point of the trail, roughly halfway between Maine and Georgia. 

Because of its geographical setting, Harpers Ferry was an important junction point. Beginning in the 1760s, Robert Harper established the first ferry across the Potomac here, and the town became a center of commerce. In 1796, the federal government built the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, which produced about half of the small arms for the U.S. Army at the time. 

Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown’s raid, during which the first shots of the Civil War were fired. John Brown was an abolitionist who wanted to lead a slave revolt. On October 16, 1859, Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal with twenty-one men, five of whom were black. Brown attacked and captured several buildings, hoping to secure the arsenal, arm his men and many other slaves, and start a revolt in Virginia and across the south. 

The U.S. sent in a contingent of eighty-six Marines to suppress the raid. Brown was captured, tried for treason and hanged. 

You can take in a lot of the history in a visit to Harpers Ferry.  The National Park Service runs the area at the base of the town where most of the action in the John Brown raid occurred - stop and ask them and they will be happy to show you.

Read more in "Get Up and Ride" 

More history of other places along the GAP & C&O: History (getupride.com) 

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Photo is attributed to MamaGeek at en.wikipedia  

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