Good afternoon to my pals over the border in West Virginia! This past Saturday I was feeling a bit confined and stressed from a rough week at the office here in Reston, VA, so I decided to hop into my car and take a random road trip out to Harper's Ferry, WV, to clear my mind and to take some photos. I had done no prior research beforehand other than knowing about the village's very important place in Civil War-era history, and I have to say I was unbelievably pleasantly surprised by the "wallop" this small town punched!
I'd highly recommend it as a weekend getaway spot for couples in Metro DC who just want to "get away from it all" and learn a bit about our nation's history in the process. There were several inviting bed & breakfast inns around town, along with a Comfort Inn just outside of the community. The Appalachian Trail meanders right through town, and there are plenty of scenic vistas to be had of this town that sits in the valley beneath a breathtaking mountain backdrop at the confluence of the Shenandoah & Potomac Rivers. I hope you'll enjoy my tour as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you!
Welcome to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia! A natural oasis within a state that truly is "wild" and "wonderful."
After parking my vehicle near to the Angler's Inn B&B along Washington Street in "Upper" Harper's Ferry I proceeded to walk towards the downtown area. On my way I just had to snap this beautiful photo of a mountain peeking out behind a historic private residence.
Heading closer to the town proper I snapped this photo of the bend in Washington Street near the intersection with Church Street as you near the business district (visible in the distance). Note the attractive brick sidewalk. I wish NoVA had sidewalks!
Heading to the bottom of Washington Street (which actually becomes High Street once you round that bend at the Church Street intersection) I snapped this photo looking back up the hill towards the direction I came to give you a perspective of just how bustling this tiny business district truly is.
This is quite possibly one of the favorite photos I had taken here in town. These historic steps are part of the Appalachian Trail and lead up from High Street to St. Peter's Church.
Here is a view looking up High Street from the intersection with Shenandoah Street at the base of the hill. This "T" intersection is truly the "epicenter" of the village and sits across the street from where the famed arsenal was from the Civil War era.
Shown here is Arsenal Square, which, as you can read on the photo I snapped of a historical marker, was the site of the arsenal that was the subject of John Brown's 1859 raid. The occupying Federal forces torched their own arsenal to the ground about a year-and-a-half later when Virginia troops were storming the town in order to prevent the opposing forces from gaining control of all of the guns and ammunition contained therein.
Intersection of Shenandoah (foreground) and Potomac (center) Streets, which are aptly named after the rivers they parallel.
A handsome row of buildings along the westerly side of the block of Shenandoah Street between High and Potomac Streets.
I realize this placard may be a bit more difficult to read, so I will type the text here:
In an effort to increase the number of small arms for defense of the United States George Washington established a Federal armory here in 1794. The rivers provided power for the machinery; surrounding mountains provided ore for gun barrels and hardwoods for charcoal and gun stocks.
In 60 years the armory manufactured more than 500,000 muskets, rifles, and rifle-muskets. At its peak in 1850, the armory employed over 400 workers.
In 1861, Southern forces transported the captured armory machinery to Richmond and Fayetteville, where it became the heart and blood of Confederate ordnance. With the armory destroyed, Harper's Ferry's economy and fortunes declined.
In 1892, the railroad covered the armory site with a 14-foot embankment. The monument in front of you marks the original site of the fire-engine house, better known as the John Brown Fort.
Another historic building adjacent to the sites of the armory, arsenal, and fort.
The mighty Potomac River flows past Harper's Ferry, which is sited at the confluence of this river and the Shenandoah River.
Hello, fellow tourists who got in the way of my picture!
Awesome stone pylons from an old bridge that traversed the Potomac.
AFLAC!!!!
Just one of many old ruins situated along the banks of the river.
Looking up at Shenandoah Street as I leave the site of the ruins.
I just snapped this pretty random shot to give you the contrast of the historic homes with the mountain backdrop.
One of several historical markers noting major floods that ravaged the community over the years.
Quite possibly my favorite photo (and the one I used for my Facebook album cover), in this picture you can clearly see how St. Peter's Church towers over the merchants lining Shenandoah Street.
Another view down Shenandoah Street.
Another view up High Street.
From that most recent photo on High Street I turned and began to traverse the many old stone steps up towards St. Peter's Church. I stopped about midway up to turn around and snap this shot of some of the adjacent rooflines accented by the mountain.
The ever so beautiful St. Peter's Church.
This woman was just one of several amicable folks who were strolling around town adorned in period attire.
Two shots I snapped from the hilltop courtyard in front of St. Peter's Church.
I apologize for the rather shoddy camera work photographing this marker, but I will try my best to transcribe it to you:
Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad produced an influx of Irish laborers into the Harper's Ferry area during the early 1830s. St. Peter's Catholic Church, completed in 1833, symbolizes America's melting pot traditions, customs, habits, and religion of the early Irish immigrants.
During the Civil War, to protect the church from Union and Confederate shells, Father Costello flew the British Union flag as a symbol of the church's neutrality. St. Peter's escaped the war relatively unscathed.
St. Peter's was remodeled to its present appearance in 18xx. _____ (Communion? Mass?) is offered here every Sunday.
The ruins of the old St. John's Episcopal Church, which was destroyed in the 1800s. The present church along Washington Street was built in 1899 and will be profiled later in the tour.
Thomas Jefferson visited this breathtaking overlook now non-coincidentally known as Jefferson Rock back in 1783. This point offers a gorgeous view of the town, mountains, and rivers that unfortunately my third picture here didn't truly do justice to.
Heading back down the trail I snapped a rear view of St. Peter's Church.
A shot of an area near Church Street, which runs parallel to (and above) High Street.
One final shot of High Street before I headed back up to Upper Harper's Ferry to engage in a self-guided walking tour. I will highlight some of the brochure details where appropriate.
A beautiful mountain view adjacent to the entrance of Harper Cemetery off of the end of Fillmore Street.
This home didn't appear to have quite the historic significance of some of its neighbors, but as an avid fan of Victorian architecture I just couldn't pass up the chance to snap a photo of it. This private residence is along Fillmore Street.
A National Park Service building.
At the time of John Brown's raid in 1859 this house as owned by Henry Clowe, a former Superintendent of the Armory who supported the Confederacy during the Civil War. Built by the U.S. government in 1836 in the Federal style, Armory House #103 was Victorianized after the Civil War with the addition of the turret. The porch was further modified in 1930 by the Cauffman family.
Public Square was laid out in 1852. The small building that is set back from the other houses is the original firehouse and town hall. The town pump was also located here. The wooden banstand, originally from Island Park amusement park (which eventually closed after continuous flooding), was brought up the hill in 1908 and is still in use. The Civil War cannon, which once sat on its carriage in front of the John Brown engine house, was moved to Public Square in 1924 as a war memorial.
A self-explanatory historical marker along Washington Street.
The original church building in Lower Town was used to quarter Union Troops during the Civil War and did not survive the war. The Camp Hill-Wesley United Methodist Church was rebuilt here in Upper Town in 1869 using bricks salvaged from the destroyed armory, and greatly expanded in 1947 when the steeple was added.
Armory House #111 was built by the U.S. government in 1833 in the Federal style. The Italianite portico and brackets were added in the 1850s when the house was sold to armory official Daniel Young. During the Civil War Stonewall Jackson quartered his staff in the house and later used it as a hospital. At this intersection (Washington & McDowell) all four houses are Armory houses built before 1837 and altered over time.
Unlike many of the homes on Ridge, which were summer homes, the Peregoy House was built as a permanent residence. William Peregoy came to Harper's Ferry to work as a carpenter for Storer College and built this house in 1895 in a modified Queen Anne style.
Briscoe House was built in 1885 by Captain John Doll who was mayor of Harper's Ferry at that time. It was used for many years as a women's dormitory for Storer College. Dr. and Mrs. Madison Briscoe purchased the house around 1954. The current owners purchased the house in 1994 from the Briscoes and operated a bed and breakfast there until 2005. The original house had a mansard roof which was later covered by its present roof.
The cornerstone of St. John's Episcopal Church was laid in 1895, and the church was completed in 1899. It is a successor to the original church building that now exists as ruins in the national park (see earler in the thread). The current church building is in a simple Gothic style.
Storer College gave one of its faculty members a third of an acre on which her husband built this house in 1875. The home is in the Queen Anne style and has elaborate woodwork. The current owner, architect for the National Park, has extensively restored the exterior.
A handsome stone building in this neighborhood.
The Lutheran Church was built in 1850 as a single story brick structure with the upstairs balcony visible through the windows. On the morning of October 17, 1859 the church bell rang a warning of the John Brown raid. The church then served as a gathering place for citizens taking action against Brown's raiders. It was used as a Union hospital during the Civil War and is largely unaltered from that time.
The Angler's Inn Bed and Breakfast, very near to where I parked.
That's all for today! I hope you enjoyed your visit!
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Almost Shed a tear
While I'm overall pretty content living here, the architecture of Reston leaves MUCH to be desired; there was more character, charm, and soul in one block of Harper's Ferry (or heck, even my struggling hometown of Scranton, PA) than there is in all of Reston. 
