Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

Historic Hagerstown -  A tight squeeze for the The Bus and us.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland. The canal's principal cargo was coal from the Allegheny Mountains.  The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and many of its original structures.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, which has 19th-century buildings, a Civil War Museum and John Brown’s Fort. 

The structure we now call John Brown’s Fort was erected in 1848 as the Armory’s fire engine and guard house. It was in this building that John Brown and several of his followers barricaded themselves during the final hours of their ill-fated raid of October 16, 17, and 18, 1859.
 

From this location, known as The Point, you look upon three states - Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia - as well as the confluence of the two rivers Potomac and Shenandoah.

Walking across the Potomac River to Maryland

Lock #33 along the C & O Canal

Back in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

 Butcher Shop and Boarding House ruins

Cotton Mill ruins
Once the largest building, this 1848 this four-story brick structure supported steam heat, gas lighting and boasted the latest machinery.

Water Tunnels

Stairs to Jefferson Rock

Jefferson Rock

Weathered ruins are all that remain of  St Johns Episcopal Church.  Built in 1852.

Berkeley Springs State Park is situated in the center of the town of Berkeley Springs. The centerpiece of the Park is its historic mineral spa. Native peoples visited these springs as did George Washington.  Berkeley Springs is the only state-run spa in the United States.  The Park is located on land which has been used as a health resort since the 1750s.

A scenic view of three states and two rivers rated by National Geographic as one of the five best in the East. The scene also includes America's transportation history showing the C&O Canal on the Maryland side of the river and the B&O Railroad on the West Virginia side.

 Pin Oak Fountain
Built by the West Virginia State Road Commission and local artisans in 1932. The crystal quartz used in construction was quarried from behind nearby Bloomery Iron Furnace, and the stone from the hillside behind the fountain. The fountain's spring water is gravity fed from the hill above and continues to supply area residents and travelers. The fountain is a popular site for picnics, dances, and courting.

I want one