Harper’s Ferry National Historic Site

We celebrated National Public Lands Day at Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park. this was a family affair and I even brought my grandmother with me! This was her first tie at a National Park. She is in a wheelchair and it was great to see that this park was fully accessible to her including shuttles that take you to different areas of the park.

Harper’s Ferry is the site of the John Brown raid. An effort by abolitionist John Brown, from October 16 to 18, 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (since 1863, West Virginia). It has been called the dress rehearsal for, or tragic prelude to, the American Civil War.

Harpers Ferry is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet.

Storer College & The Lockwood House

With the end of the Civil War and the Passage of the 13th Amendment, there was a national effort to educate formerly enslaved persons. The federal government established the Freedmen's Bureau, an agency dedicated to the assistance of integrating former slaves into society. Freedmen's Bureau activities included relocating, housing, feeding, and clothing the destitute and homeless. In addition, education became an essential element of the bureau's mission. The Lockwood House in Harpers Ferry was the first building to house the newly established Storer School. Reverend Nathan Cook Brackett a member of New England's Freewill Baptist Home Mission Society, established a primary school in the war-torn building. He taught basic fundamentals including reading, writing, and arithmetic to the children of former slaves and their parents.