Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers where the states of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland meet.
The town was founded by Robert Harper after purchasing the ferry service from a squatter and eventually buying the land from Lord Fairfax. George Washington had visited the area in 1785 and in 1794 recommended it as a site for a national armory. The following year the U.S. Government purchased 125 acres from the descendants of Robert Harper. Construction on the arsenal began in 1799.
The arsenal used the river for power, water wheels would turn shafts which then turned machinery by way of pulleys and leather belts.
Three years later the arsenal was producing small arms for the U.S. Military. The operation was quite small, utilizing a work force of 25 or less and a single factory room.
The rifles produced at Harpers Ferry included:
Model of 1795 Flintlock Musket
Model of 1816 Flintlock Musket
Model of 1819 Hall Breech-Loading Flintlock Musket
Model of 1836 Hall Breech-Loading Percussion Carbine
Model of 1841 "Mississippi Rifle"
Model of 1842 smooth bore Musket
Model of 1855 Rifled Musket
In 1806 an armory building was erected to store the finished weapons
The drawing below, circa 1824, shows the Harpers Ferry Arsenal workshops and associated buildings
In 1845 construction began to enlarge and improve the Armory, several new buildings were erected including a large Smith & Forging Shop. This also required more people to be hired, by 1859 some 400 workers were toiling away at the arsenal. The story of Harpers Ferry would not be complete if we did not include the famous John Brown Raid.
In the early morning hours of October 17th, 1859. Abolitionist John Brown and his followers led a raid on the town of Harpers Ferry. They planned to steal the arms from the armory and distribute them to anti-slavery freedom fighters, hoping to put a permanent end to slavery in America.
They took several hostages and took over the Armory buildings. As the Virginia Militia (Harpers Ferry was in the state of Virginia at the time) descended upon them the raiders took refuge in the Fire Engine House/Guard House near the entrance to the Arsenal.
Eventually a U.S. Marine detachment, led by Robert E. Lee stormed the Fire House and took whomever was still alive into custody.
The prisoners included the organizer John Brown, who was injured but still kicking.
The Fire Engine House/Guard House where Brown and his men fought from was later renamed "John Brown's Fort", the picture below was taken in 1888
John Brown was found guilty of several charges and sentenced to hang. On December 2nd, 1859 John Brown was hanged in Charles Town, Virginia. The painting below depicts his journey to the gallows. Sadly, he never got to witness the end of slavery in America.
On April 17th, 1861 The State of Virginia voted to secede from the Union. The following evening at 10pm the Union Army at Harpers Ferry, having knowledge that the arsenal was a target of the approaching Virginia Militia, set fire to their arsenal.
The arriving militia and townspeople fought to put out the flames and did manage to save some of the buildings.
The drawing below appeared in the May 11th 1861 issue of Harper's Weekly (no relation to the town).
The Confederacy took the weapons and machinery and relocated them farther south to use for the newly established Confederate Army.
A few weeks after Virginia seceded from the Union, several counties in NW Virginia mounted a movement to repeal the secession, their efforts led to the formation of the new state of West Virginia, which was admitted to the Union on June 20th, 1863. the new state would include Harpers Ferry, the borders were partially defined by the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers.
Harpers Ferry was an important staging point during the war, the town and what was left of the arsenal changed hands (between the Union and Confederacy) at least 11 times during the war.
The entrance to the armory circa 1862, the Fire House/Guard shack (John Brown's Fort) is on the left.
Another photo from 1862 showing the burned out buildings
By the end of the Civil War, there was not much left of the Arsenal. The photo below, showing the burned out buildings was taken in 1865. The U.S. Government decided not to rebuild the Arsenal.
This photo taken in 1886 shows the ruins of the Smith & Forging shop, it was one of the buildings erected during the 1845/1846 expansion.
This picture from circa 1889 shows the entrance to the arsenal, about the only building left standing is the old Fire House, aka John Brown's Fort. The Civil War, neglect and several floods destroyed what was left of the arsenal buildings.
In a weird twist of fate the John Brown's Fort was dismantled and reassembled at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The move cost organizers $60,000 and yet only 11 attendees paid the .50 cents to view the Fort.
It was subsequently returned to Harpers Ferry, but not to the Arsenal grounds, it was set up on a hill on Murphy Farm, which is also the sight of an attack by the Confederate Army in 1862. The farm became a destination for pilgrimages of former slaves.
The building remained on the farm, about 3 miles outside of town, until 1909, when it was moved once again to the Storer College Campus, on Camp Hill in Harpers Ferry.
On June 30th, 1944 the area that was once the Arsenal was designated the Harpers Ferry National Monument, and on May 29th, 1963 it became a National Park.
In 1960 the National Park Service took ownership of John Brown's Fort and intended to return it to its original location. That was not possible however, as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had taken over the area and had installed a dike to prevent interruptions of rail service during floods. In fact most of what was the arsenal is buried under this dike.
In 1968 the fort was moved to its current location, about 150 feet to the south-east of where it originally sat
John Brown's Fort in 1974, still undergoing renovations. You can see the raised, railroad embankment to the right.
photo courtesy of The Baltimore Sun
This picture shows the original location and the new location
There stands a marker to identify the original location of John Brown's Fort
photo courtesy of Lost New England
John Brown's Fort today
This picture shows the location of one of the old armory buildings that stored the weapons, John Brown's Fort is in the background.
If you would like to visit the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, you can find more info here
Just in case you were not aware, there is a company selling firearms under the "Harpers Ferry Armory" name.
In the same vein as Springfield Armory Inc and Rock Island Arsenal, they have absolutely nothing to do with the original U.S. Arsenals. The guns bearing their name are not made in Harpers Ferry (their revolvers appear to be relabeled Charter Arms).
References
Travelanguist
Wikipedia
Civil War.org
United States History LSA
Preservation Alliance of West Virginia
National Park Service
Son of the South
Lost New England
The Baltimore Sun Dark Room
Dave Gilbert Graphic Design
Guns.com
Harpers Ferry Armory Guns
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