John Brown's Fort -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (WV) June 18, 2010
John Brown's Fort was the building built in 1848 that was originally constructed for use as a guard and fire engine house for the Federal Harpers Ferry Armory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, then a part of Virginia.
An 1848 military report described the building as "An engine and guard-house 35? x 24 feet, one story brick, covered with slate, and having copper gutters and down spouts..." The building achieved notoriety during John Brown's Raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in October 1859.
After the Raid, the fire engine house became known as "John Brown's Fort" and attracted tourist attention. In 1891, the building was sold to a buyer who wished to use it as an attraction close to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The building had few visitors and was dismantled and left on a vacant lot after the exhibition.
In 1894, a movement was began to preserve the building and move it back to Harper's Ferry. Alexander Murphy deeded 5 acres of his farm near Harpers Ferry as a relocation site, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad provided free shipping. Reconstruction of John Brown's Fort on the Murphy farm was completed by November 1895. In 1909, Storer College in Harper's Ferry bought John Brown's Fort from Murphy for $900.00 and moved it to the college's campus.
In 1960, the National Park Service (NPS) acquired the building and, in 1968, moved it once more to a location close to its original site, which had been covered by a railroad embankment in 1894. The Fort is now part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park run by the NPS and sits 150 feet from its original location.
Image by Ron Cogswell, June 2010, using a Pentax Optio A10 and minor Photoshop effects.
IMGP3313
John Brown's Fort -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (WV) June 18, 2010
John Brown's Fort was the building built in 1848 that was originally constructed for use as a guard and fire engine house for the Federal Harpers Ferry Armory in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, then a part of Virginia.
An 1848 military report described the building as "An engine and guard-house 35? x 24 feet, one story brick, covered with slate, and having copper gutters and down spouts..." The building achieved notoriety during John Brown's Raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in October 1859.
After the Raid, the fire engine house became known as "John Brown's Fort" and attracted tourist attention. In 1891, the building was sold to a buyer who wished to use it as an attraction close to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The building had few visitors and was dismantled and left on a vacant lot after the exhibition.
In 1894, a movement was began to preserve the building and move it back to Harper's Ferry. Alexander Murphy deeded 5 acres of his farm near Harpers Ferry as a relocation site, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad provided free shipping. Reconstruction of John Brown's Fort on the Murphy farm was completed by November 1895. In 1909, Storer College in Harper's Ferry bought John Brown's Fort from Murphy for $900.00 and moved it to the college's campus.
In 1960, the National Park Service (NPS) acquired the building and, in 1968, moved it once more to a location close to its original site, which had been covered by a railroad embankment in 1894. The Fort is now part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park run by the NPS and sits 150 feet from its original location.
Image by Ron Cogswell, June 2010, using a Pentax Optio A10 and minor Photoshop effects.
IMGP3313