A Visit to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia

Driving down interstate I-70 from Pennsylvania towards Washington DC and Virginia, I realized that I was a bit more than two hours ahead of schedule, and considered ways to kill that time so I would not arrive at my destination too early. I realized that I was very near to the historic town of Harpers Ferry, and decided to make the detour and see what I could do there. This video is the result.
BTW, don't jump on me for leaving out the apostrophe.....while the town was originally Harper's Ferry, was was officially renamed Harpers Ferry 1891, and has been without the apostrophe ever since.
Also, I neglected to mention in the video that this location's historical significance as a populated area dates back to the early 1700s. George Washington spent time in this location in 1785 to survey the need to bypass canals on the two rivers. Meriwether Lewis visited here to obtain tools, weapons and a special boat, on his way from meeting Thomas Jefferson in Washington DC to meeting up with William Clark so they could begin their famous expedition to the Pacific coast. I did manage to mention the town's significance in regards to abolitionist John Brown's attack on the US Armory here prior to the Civil War. I did not mention that Harpers Ferry also serves as the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail.

[@usslaca135]

Thank you for visiting this historic site. With my family, I spent year in Washington DC (1977-78). One blustery Fall day, we visited Harpers Ferry, but the family voted to not do a walking tour. Obviously we didn't see much, so I appreciate your posting of this video.
GB

[@gwenpaxton1802]

I live in England UK, but I love anything like this in America I have watched all your Amtrak train journeys and really enjoyed them, so thank you very much

[@user-to9fw1wv9l]

Thank you for showing us Harper’ Ferry. So that is what it look like. Now we can identify the terrain and location.
Last bridge walk I took was the fiftieth anniversary of the building of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were over three hundred thousand people on the bridge that day and the arch on the roadway of the bridge got flattened by the sure weight of the people on the bridge. The bridge began to sway from side to side because of the weight on the bridge. Panic! Some idiot shouted out “We got to lighten up the load on the bridge. We have to thrown some people off the bridge!”
I yell back “You first!” That shut him up. 😮‍💨

[@ssnoc]

Beautiful looking country rich in history 👍

[@charlieporch3181]

I live close. Beautiful park.
Good video.

[@guillermojacques6671]

Always enjoy your travel videos. That would be a good place to spend a day or two looking at the history and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery. I think their state motto is or used to be: wild wonderful West Virginia. And from the sample size of your video, it appears to be just that. Thanks for sharing.

[@bluesplayerbob8698]

it is a very interesting and historic area. Great for day trips and gaining knowledge of our history as a nation.

[@levoisj]

I'm sorry I missed this. This is one place worth visiting having only passed through over the years. A significant place in pre-Civil War American history!

[@user-rs3zs2lg1t]

My people are from close to here, cross Shenandoah River into Va., go up the road towards Purcellville Va., cross river, go
southeast 1mi., to Neersville Va., known as (In-Between-the Hills) my Granddaddy helped build the railroad bridge in
Harpersferry, he told me he could have bought a home in Neersville for $150.00 one hundred fifty dollars, but didn’t have
$1.50 one dollar and fifty cents in his pocket, my people Edward’s/Pomeroy help start & build 1st church
in-between-the hills. Still standing, looking good, and still services, quite a few of my family are buried there including
Mom and Dad. My Grandmother wanted to go into the church several years ago, i said Grandma maybe door is locked, my
Grandmother’s reply was “it had better not be locked” ????

[@keliilanilopes8820]

So when are you going on another train odyssey, I enjoy those. Harper’s Ferry is insightful

[@youtuuba]

Keliilanolopes, nobody in their right mind would tell strangers on TH-cam their future travel plans.

[@manfredconnor3194]

Wow, I am glad you showed me how crappy this National Park is! Now, I know not to visit it! Like so many American Parks, where they could have invested some money and made something out of it, they just didn't. It's really sad, when you consider how strategic the area was and how historically important John Brown's uprising was.
It's a beautiful area, but apart from some old rusty railroad bridges, a sad grey monolith, a few old machines, a few old foundations, a brick fort removed from its original location by the Railroad and a few historical plaques nothing remains.
The only real reason to go would be the nature, but even that is marred by the rusty bridges and the highway noise. Just sad really.
One thing we Americans do well, is battlefield Parks. Compare this with Fort Necessity, King's Mountain, Gettysburg, Chicamauga, Fort Ligonier, New Market, Shiloh or even Bushy Run battlefield. It's too bad they did not do a better job with this one.
It is interesting to note that the Catholic church does not appear at all in the painting from the 1880s. It must have been built later or perhaps it is not within view?
Pretty much everything we have pales in comparison to Europe's historic sights.
Many places in the US are like:
"George Washington stopped here, to take a piss on the night of December 11th, 1778 on his way to 'X'." Then, you have to pay $25 to see the museum, that showscases a 20 minute film about Washington's stop and how a 18th century pit toilet works! 😂
On top of that there is no parking! 😂😅

[@youtuuba]

Manfredconnor, boy, you must have woken up on the wrong side of bed. As I read your comment I was thinking:
- There is nothing "crappy" about this national park. The purpose of national parks, monuments, etc; is to preserve important natural and historic areas for the benefit of the American people. This location at Harpers Ferry is incredibly historic and important for many reasons and in may ways, and is also in a pretty area, albeit one that has always been a natural transportation hub. The more history one knows about this place, the more one realizes that its current state is probably about the best it has looked since the it was founded as a settlement. It used to be very industrial, now it is pretty, as peaceful as a place can be that is sited as it is. It is apparent that the NPS has invested a lot to fix this place up, but it would be against their mandate to go too far with that.
- You seem to think that everything there is to this place was shown in my video. No, this was a quick view without digging in, NOT a complete review of what else is there.
- "The only reason to go would be the nature"....the only reason for YOU, but don't presume to speak for everyone else, especially people who allocate enough time to really see everything there.
- "It's too bad they did not do a better job with this one".....compared to what? This is not a 'battlefield park', although smaller skirmishes did happen during the Civil War. In fact, most of the town was razed by departing armies and this area changed hands several times during that conflict. Then came the disastrous floods that wiped away a lot of what remained. The NPS has done a LOT with this place, and ended up with a nice balance.
- "Pretty much everything we have pales in comparison to Europe's historic sights".....well, as a former European, they have OLDER sites, not necessarily MORE of them. And where did the first national parks appear? In the good old USA, and now many countries copy our idea in this regard. And have you been to Washington DC? Name a country that has a more impressive national capitol! Name a country that has such impressive and numerous large class0act museums as the US does. Name a country that has such large, numerous and diverse national parks, forests, monuments, etc.
- "On top of that there is no parking!"....well, if you actually watched my video without the blinders on, you might have noticed that I mentioned (more than once) about the Vistiors Center, which has ample parking. But there is no room for that within the confines of the small and very hilly historical area, so it has to be a mile away. They provide free shuttle buses, and people who don't mind a pretty walk can do it on foot. I only parked in the train station lot because I was short on time and the rangers suggested that I drive down to the train station, and even radioed ahead to check if any spaces were available for me.