Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
| Harpers Ferry | |||
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 View of the city |
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| Location in West Virginia | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1751 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | West Virginia | ||
| County : | Jefferson County | ||
| Coordinates : | 39 ° 20 ′ N , 77 ° 45 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
| Residents : | 286 (as of 2010) | ||
| Population density : | 190.7 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 1.6 km 2 (approx. 1 mi 2 ) of which 1.5 km 2 (approx. 1 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 149 m | ||
| Postal code : | 25425 | ||
| Area code : | +1 304 | ||
| FIPS : | 54-35284 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1560593 | ||
 Historical view in the moonlight |
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Harpers Ferry is a small town in Jefferson County in the US state West Virginia with 286 inhabitants (as of 2010). It is located at the confluence of the Shenandoah River in the Potomac in the border triangle of the US states of Maryland , Virginia and West Virginia.
history
Harpers Ferry is historically best known for the attack by John Brown on October 16, 1859, through which the latter wanted to spark a slave revolt. The slaves were to be armed with hand weapons that had been manufactured for the US armed forces in the second state arms factory located in town . The plan failed. The arms factory existed from 1799 to April 1861. In order not to let it fall into Confederate hands, the military security set fire to the buildings before they left. The Confederates managed to save the stored weapons and machines from destruction.
Harpers Ferry changed hands twelve times during the American Civil War . In 1862 the site was the scene of the Battle of Harpers Ferry , in which the Confederates were successful.
Harpers Ferry has been part of the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park since 1944 . The National Park Service has had a training center for nature and cultural interpretation there (Stephen T. Mather Training Center) since 1964 , and since 1970 all boards and brochures for all Park Service facilities have been designed in a separate building (Harpers Ferry Center).
Appalachian Trail
Harpers Ferry is also crossed by the Appalachian National Scenic Trail . The city marks half of the 3,500-kilometer route. For this reason, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is also located here, an organization that organizes the maintenance of the trail.
Sons and daughters of the place
- Willard Preble Hall (1820–1882), politician, governor of Missouri
- Emanuel W. Wilson (1844–1905), politician, governor of West Virginia
- Joseph Howard Hodges (1911–1985), Roman Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Wheeling
Web links
- Website of the city (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ American FactFinder: Harper's Ferry, Census 2010 ; accessed March 21, 2017.
- ↑ Jonathan A. Noyalas: The Cost of War. In: Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH), October 27, 2015, accessed March 21, 2017 .