Free Ebook from Amazon - The Raid on Harpers Ferry as I Saw It
George Washington established a federal armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1796, the same one that John Brown raided in 1859 as part of his plan to overthrow the institution of slavery. During the Civil War when the town changed hands eight times the armory and arsenal were destroyed. The destruction of the factory buildings plus numerous floods spelled the end of the town’s industrial heyday.The national park service has restored many of the buildings. Several are small museums. Some have displays that depict the former use of the building. Interpretive signs are located outside of the buildings and along the trails.
An unescorted visitor using a wheelchair or scooter to get around will find visiting Harpers Ferry very challenging. The streets are cobble stone, the sidewalks are a combination of brick and uneven stone slabs, and some paths are loose gravel. Ramps are located at the back entrance of some of the buildings. Have a ranger mark which ones are accessible on the map.
The parking lot is large with long RV spaces. Visitors must board a shuttle bus to get to the town. The bus has a wheelchair lift. You may also drive to town on a back road but parking is very limited (no spaces for RVs) and a steep slope must be navigated after parking. Park
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We will be there in August-thanks for posting
ReplyDeleteYou'll enjoy your visit.It's a very interesting little town. I didn't want to make the post really long so I didn't include a lot of the other historic events. There are also many hiking trails but I'm not sure about waterfalls. :)
ReplyDeleteDon't miss Antietam National Battlefield which is just a little bit north.
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ReplyDeleteThank you ,we are also looking for reenactments in the area.
ReplyDeleteCheck the tourist visitor centers. We've been to a few reenactments. It's easy to miss them because , first you have to know that they're happening ,then you have to actually be close enough to go.
ReplyDeleteWe went to the Battle of Little Horn reenactment years ago. That was going on last weekend - way too far to drive -Montana!
Then the Battle of Olustee in Florida which was very good. All of the other ones that we've seen have been small , not really battle reenactments , mostly just camps set up with demonstrations of firearms and camp life.
Hope you find one that is close enough for you to attend!