14. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia

Entrance sign

Welcome once again to our blog!  We’ll be traveling to a picturesque little town with wonderful views and loaded with history, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.



BACKGROUND:

The confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and the Potomac Water Gap, as seen from The Point.

               The small town of Harpers Ferry lies on a sharp rocky point at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the borders of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland meet.  Originally located in Virginia, the area was praised for its scenic views of the Potomac water gap (where the Potomac River cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains), and was selected as one of two locations for Federal Armories by George Washington.  Owing to its location, Harpers Ferry boomed in the early 1800s as a manufacturing center, drawing on trade and traffic from the North coming down the Potomac, and from the South along the Shenandoah.

'Jefferson Rock', from which Thomas Jefferson declared the view at Harpers Ferry to be worthy of a journey across the Atlantic Ocean.  The Potomac River and the spire of St. Peter's church is seen beyond.

               In 1859 however, Harpers Ferry became the scene of a pivotal event on the road to the Civil War.  John Brown, a fanatical abolitionist who had murdered many pro slavery settlers during “Bleeding Kansas,” devised a plan to begin a slave revolt that would end slavery in the southern United States once and for all, by raiding and seizing arms from the Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry.  The mission was botched early on with Brown and his supporters holding up in an arsenal building, while U.S. Marines, ironically under the command of a certain Army Colonel named Robert E. Lee who in two short years would turn against the very government he was defending, were rushed to the town from the District of Columbia.  Brown was captured, tried, and executed, but the raid had inflamed tensions, particularly in the Southern Slave states.

The former fire house of the Harpers Ferry Armory which John Brown turned in to a makeshift fort when his raiders were cornered by U.S. Marines

               With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Harpers Ferry became a strategic location as the crossing point for Union forces into the Shenandoah valley.  Time and again, Union and Confederate troops clashed over Harpers Ferry as they marched north and south as the fortunes of war changed.  In 1863, the Unionist western third of Virginia formally broke away and returned to the Union as the new State of West Virginia, taking Harpers Ferry with it. 

The ruins of a 19th century cotton factory on Virginius Island.

After the conclusion of the war, Harpers Ferry had been devastated by four years of back and forth fighting and the Federal Armory had been destroyed, never to be rebuilt.  As Reconstruction proceeded, Harpers Ferry became the home of the Storer College, an historically black college supported by many early Civil Rights activists.  The town however, wrecked by war and further damaged by floods, never recovered to the prominence it had prior to 1861.  In 1944, to recognize its great significance in early U.S. history, portions of the town and the heights above were designated a National Historical Park under the National Park Service.

THE PARK:

A view overlooking the Lower Town toward the Potomac Water Gap

               The majority of the land that makes up Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is actually not in the town but along the flanks of the massive cliffs overlooking the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, and the heights above the town.  Most of these areas are preserved for either their natural beauty or as part of Civil War battlefields, including Bolivar Heights which saw the largest surrender of U.S. troops until the Fall of the Philippines in World War Two.  The Lower Town of Harpers Ferry is the main attraction, with many historic 19^th century buildings preserved by the National Park Service as museums and exhibits, each focusing on a different aspect of the history of the town.  Among the historic buildings in the lower town is “John Brown’s Fort,” the former fire house of the Harpers Ferry Armory in which John Brown and his raiders took shelter when their raid failed and were besieged by Marines.  The park includes numerous trails leading to remote parts of the park, such as the cliffs overlooking the town, and the ruins of factories on Virginius Island adjacent to the Lower Town.  Most of the town is in fact still privately owned, with shops lining High Street going uphill to the upper town, which is almost completely privately owned except for the former Storer College which now houses NPS offices.  The park has one visitor center, located above the town where there is a large space for public parking and where visitors board shuttle buses down to the lower town.  There is also an information center in the Lower Town.

Several of the NPS owned buildings in the lower towns with exhibits on life in Harpers Ferry in the early 19th century.  The building at left with the green and grey NPS flag is the lower town Information Center.

               Harpers Ferry holds the unique distinction of being the crossing point of four different National Park Service Units.  The Appalachian Trail descends into the Lower town where it crosses a railroad bridge over the Potomac River.  Here it meets both the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, which both run between the District of Columbia and Cumberland, Maryland.

A view from the point overlooking the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers.  The railroad bridge at left carries the Appalachian Trail across the Potomac River, while the ruined trusses at right are the remains of the original railroad bridge from before the Civil War.

TRAVEL TIPS:

               Located less than 50 miles from the District of Columbia, Harpers Ferry is roughly an hour’s drive from the Nation’s capital.  In order to fully appreciate all that the town has to offer, both in hiking, educational, and shopping opportunities, visitors should budget a full day for a visit.  It is highly recommended that visitors take advantage of the shuttle bus system, which takes visitors to both the Lower Town and Bolivar Heights.  While private vehicle use is not strictly prohibited in the Lower Town, it is very restricted.  The park is open year-round from 9am to 5pm, with exceptions for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.  Ranger programs and guided tours are available, but most of the park is self-guided. The shuttle buses are handicapped accessible, but many of the historic buildings in the Lower Town, and the hiking trails are not.  Passport stamps can be found at both the Visitor Center and the Lower Town Information Center.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

Several park buildings including from left to right, the park bookstore, public restrooms, and a museum on industry in Harpers Ferry.

Additional park buildings, the structure at left featuring exhibits on the areas' wetlands, and the one at right on the John Brown raid in 1859.

A monument marking the original location of 'John Brown's Fort.'  The structure was moved to its present location behind the photographers perspective in the late 1800s.  The armory complex would have stretched straight back from this location along the right side of the picture.

The modern railroad bridge across the Potomac, with the walkway carrying the Appalachian Trail along the side.

A view looking up High Street towards the privately owned shopping area of town.

Historic St. Peter's Catholic Church.  Built prior to the Civil War for Irish workers digging the C & O Canal on the opposite bank of the River, the church is still an active congregation and privately owned.

A second view looking up High Street.

A railroad trestle running alongside the Shenandoah River.  Two railroad lines still run through the town.

The remains of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal on the Maryland bank of the Potomac river.

River rafting on the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers is a popular activity and rafting groups are often seen.  Here a group of rafters passes by Virginius Island next to the Lower Town.

Civil War cannon on Bolivar Heights above the town.  Bolivar Heights was the strategic high ground over which Union and Confederate forces battled multiple times to control Harpers Ferry.

13. Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Massachusetts

               Hello!  Welcome to our blog.  We are continuing with a return to the Northeast with a stop at the original “Arsenal of Democracy”, Springfield Armory National Historic Site.

 

Entrance sign

BACKGROUND:

               During the American War of Independence, the young United States had ironically been very dependent on shipments of arms from foreign nations to continue the fight against Great Britain.  Following the war, Congress realized the importance of the country needing to manufacture its own weapons for defense.  In 1794, President George Washington selected two locations for Federal armories, one in Harpers Ferry (West) Virginia, and the second in Springfield, Massachusetts, the site of a previous arsenal during the War of Independence.  The armories commenced production the following year.

               Springfield Armory soon became a factory on the cutting edge of the Industrial Revolution, employing new methods of mass production and heavy machinery, particularly the introduction of interchangeable parts.  When the armory at Harper’s Ferry was destroyed during the Civil War, Springfield armory became the United States’ only remaining Federal factory for producing rifles for the war until Harpers Ferry was replaced by the Rock Island Arsenal.  The armory continued to supply the U.S. government with rifles for the next century, producing some of the nation’s most iconic firearms, such as M1903 Springfield used in World War One, and the legendary World War Two era M1 Garand.  The armory’s last hurrah came in 1957 with the development of the M14 Battle Rifle.  But soon, both the M14 and Springfield Armory were superseded by the M16 Assault Rifle and the private contractors that manufactured it, leading to the Armory’s closure in 1968.

 

The Main Arsenal building

THE SITE:

               Springfield Armory National Historic Site is located near the center of Springfield, Massachusetts.  The majority of the original Springfield Armory factory and grounds is now the location of Springfield Technical Community College, with most of the factory buildings being re-purposed.  The Main Arsenal building, located on the western end of the grounds and once used to store row upon row of muskets, now houses the National Park Service visitor center and museum.  Within, the museum displays exhibits of not only many various types of firearms, but the machinery used in the manufacturing process of rifle making.  The armory proudly boasts hosting the largest collection of American military firearms in the world.

 

Examples of machinery at the museum used in the rifle manufacturing process

TRAVEL TIPS:

               Springfield Armory National Historic Site is open from 9:00am-5:00pm year-round, all week from June through October and Wednesday through Sunday in the winter.  The museum is located on the ground floor of the Main Arsenal building and tours are self-guided, though guided tours also occur daily.  The museum includes a short film and is handicapped accessible.  Passport stamps are found at the front desk.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

The grounds of the armory, now the Springfield Technical Community College

A model in the museum showing the entirety of the armory complex.  The Main Arsenal building is at the upper right

The interior of the Main Arsenal building's tower, which doubled as a hoist for lifting muskets to the upper floors for easier storage

A so called "organ of muskets", demonstrating how muskets were stacked in the arsenal building in the 19th century

A display of various versions of the famed M1 Garand rifle

An exhibit on experimental devices used for trench fighting in World War One



A display on design flaws and damage to rifles.  The top rifle was reportedly twisted as a result of a lightning strike.  Allegedly the sentry holding the rifle walked away unscathed

An exhibit on the evolution of firearms, from the matchlock musket, to the submachine gun

12. Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland

               Hello and welcome back to our blog on the National Park Service.  In this post, we’ll be turning away from historical parks for a look at little known scenic treasure in western Maryland, Catoctin Mountain Park.

Entrance Sign

BACKGROUND:

               Catoctin Mountain lies along the eastern rim of the Appalachian Mountains in western Maryland, near where the Maryland panhandle begins.  To the east lies flat plains, to the west the Cumberland Valley and Allegheny Mountains.

The Catoctin Mountain visitor center.

               Long a rural backwater, Catoctin Mountain became the site of Civilian Conservation Corps jobs programs during the Great Depression with the intent of creating a large public park.  Between 1936 and 1939 the infrastructure programs built cabins, maintenance structures, and campsites within the new park.  During World War Two, the park became part of the war effort as a training camp for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, and as a rehabilitation center for wounded servicemen.  During this time, President Franklin Roosevelt chose one of the camp sites within Catoctin Mountain Park as a rustic Presidential retreat he called Shangri-La, after the mythical mountain city in the Himalayas.  This retreat would be rechristened by President Eisenhower to the name it is known today, Camp David.  Around the same time the park was cut in half, the southern portion of the park being returned to Maryland as Cunningham Falls State Park.

The former entrance gate to one of Catoctin Mountain Park's early camps, now the site of the park headquarters.

THE PARK:

               Catoctin Mountain Park is one of a very few National Park Units simply given the label of Park, as opposed to National Park (the others of this designation being Greenbelt, Fort Washington, and Piscataway Parks in Maryland in the D.C. area, National Capital Parks, Rock Creek Park, and President’s Park in the District of Columbia, and Prince William Forest Park in Virginia).

An exhibit in the visitor center on wildlife found within the park.

               The Park covers a moderately large area of land just across from the small town of Thurmont, Maryland on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, atop Catoctin Mountain, over the adjacent mountain, and then down into the valley between Catoctin and South Mountain.  The town of Thurmont is located roughly halfway between Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and Frederick, Maryland.  The park has a single visitor center just off Maryland Route 77 which runs along the Park's southern border.

The stream known as 'Blue Blazes Run,' situated within the park.

               The Park provides many areas for recreation, particularly camping.  The Park has three cabin camping areas, Misty Mount, Greentop, and Round Meadow, with cabins originally constructed by the CCC in the 1930s.  The park also has two tent campgrounds, Owens Creek and Poplar Grove.  Trails are abundant, some being rated as “Strenuous”, particularly the trails to the top of Catoctin Mountain.  Rock climbing is also popular in some areas as well as fly fishing.

The view from 'Chimney Rock' atop Catoctin Mountain looking South.

               While Camp David is publicly acknowledged as being within the park, for security reasons it is not even labeled on the park map brochure.  Even though the President may only choose to visit Camp David a handful of times out of the year, the facility is never open to the public and is guarded by military personnel.

TRAVEL TIPS:

               Catoctin Mountain Park is open year-round except for selected days.  Although it is open in the winter, there are few activities except for cross country skiing and some roads are closed.  The visitor center is open from 9am to 5pm, and park grounds from dawn until dusk except in the campgrounds.  To stay overnight at camping facilities, for tent or cabin campgrounds, reservations must be made online beforehand.  Round Meadow, Greentop, and Owens Creek campgrounds, as well as some trails are handicapped accessible.  Passport Stamps are found in the visitor center.  Multiple trails also connect to the adjacent Cunningham Falls Maryland State Park, where additional camping sites and recreational activities are located.  Given its central location, Catoctin Mountain Park also makes for a suitable base for visiting additional National Park Service units and other tourist sites within the general vicinity.

A typical campsite at Owens Creek campground.

               We hope you enjoyed this brief summary of this often overlooked National Park unit.  In our next post we will be returning once again to Massachusetts to visit a site which provided for the defense of the United States for over a century and a half, Springfield Armory National Historic Site.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

The Blue Blazes Whiskey Still, a moonshine still located near the visitor center dating from the days of Prohibition.

The small pool of water in this photo is a small spring located along a trail up to the top of Catoctin Mountain.

A portion of the Chimney Rock trail at Catoctin Mountain.

The dining hall at Camp Misty Mount.