Evening Star Newspaper, June 12, 1921, Page 60

4 ARPERS FERRY has country- wide renowa for its historic aspociations. its scenery and its geegrsphic situatien, “This is the best knawn small city in the United States.” said & sweet.faeed womas te The Stay man, as he sat in ‘a fine old home on & hilltep gbeve “the Ferry.” There is truth in that staf ment, becayse in a histaric sense Har- pers Fesry way be classed with Lex- ington. Concerd and Yerktewn snd “with Manassas, Gettysburg and Appe- mattoy. To the people of Washington Har- pers ry is bett knoewn-—nearer knewa—than any ene of those piaces. It is at the.junetion of the Shensm- dosh river and oyur own Potemac, and where these rivers have tera and ground & b each in the Blue Rllglo. It is sur mearsst rail point to the meyntains, b fifty-five miles and few minutes morve than an hour sway by tralp. It stands at the entrance of the Shenandosh valley—160 miles Jon and thirty wide—one of the fruitful and highly cyltivateq reg Americy. Early in the eighteenth cen- tury it became a crossing place for pilgrims passing seuth and west. The Shemandoah valley was settled mostly by people who entered that chosen 13nd by way of Harpers Ferry. Emigrants from the older mis SHENANDOAN STREET IN HARPERS FERRY tyre of the armory and town by John Brown of Osawattomy, the militant sbhelitionist, and his men in 1359 was an_epoch in our national life. It made Harpers Ferry a household werd throughout the United States and made it a familiar name in many ther countries. The influence of this tragedy in fecusing popular notice upon the question of slavery. in stim- ufating ‘the growing hostility be- tween the people of the north soyth. and bringing on or hastening the civil war is differently estimated by different men, byt the inflence of Jobn Brown certainly seems to have been. and to be. extensive enough to emplace him as a momentous charsc- ter In Ameri history—and thal, of in all history. enument marks the site of the armery fire engine house. in which Brown and his troop barricaded them- selves sgainst Virginis troops and Unitad States troops sent from Washingten, and this old brick build- ing, oalled John Brown's ¥Fort, when- o spoken of, has found, after sev- eral remevals, & permanent resting r\m in the greunds of Storer Col- ege for colored youth, on orie of the hills of Harpers Ferry, near, but high above the scene of the tragedy. In the eivil war Harpers Ferry, be- aayse of its geographical situation, was & place of military importance. several engagements were fought there, Union and Confederate forces ieccupied the tewn and neighborhood e gol- Lsucceasively, and this place, a gate| and | Lhill, THE SfiNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C T JUNE 12, 1921-PART 4. HE Star Man Writes Story of Town at Junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Incidents of the Civil War—John Brown and His Raid—First Settlers and Where They Came From—The Town Today. Its Manufacturing Establishments and Business Houses. Churches and Schools—County and City Officials. tery, John Brown's fort, Jefferson’s rock, Camp hill, Magasine hill, Sunset Bolivar heights, Tearney's hill &nd Circus hill. At the time of pub- lication of this number Mrs. Blanche A. Wheatley was the editor, Misse Emma Wheatley assistant editor and Mrs. Wanda Young business menag: ‘The officers of the Woman's Club wer. “the reportorigl staff.” and their names and offices follow: Mrs. F. P. Lynch, president: Mrs. Frank Walker, first vice president; Mrs, Eugene Shugart, second vice president; Mrs. Kate My- ers. third vice president; Mrs. Ken- neth Cavalier, recording secretary; Mrs. B. B. Ransom, corresponding secretary, and Mrs. C. J. Cavalier. treasurer. With permission of the ladies, the following extract is made from the Mountain Echo: The place was first mentioned fn 1719 in the Chronicles of Virginis as Shensndouh Falls. It meag the »qus! ters of hi te Pennsyiva: being mentioned a squatter In 1747 came Rohert w the town was uamed, 83 architect, onies te the Ohio esyntry. the Missis- | *ippi valley and the wh. northwest | territory passed that way. Fer many years. the only rail royte between the east and west led through Harpers Ferry, and for eighty years it has been one of the great theroyghfares b tween the Atlantic and the west, for | the main line of the Baltimare and Ohio, one of the pioneer railroads of the world, goes that way. of the railroad entrances and exits of the valley of Virginia. where trains carry you to Charles Town. Winehes. ter, " Berryville. Strashurg., Frent Royal. Woedstock. Brosdway, Har- risonburg. Staynton, Lexington and All the other places of the Sheman- ozh. * ¥ % BECAI!SB of its nearness to Wash- ingten and Baltimere, and becgyse of the height ef its mouyntains, the rock splender of its chaams, the roar and silver foam of its rivers, its brosd views, the quiet charm of its hemes| and the goodness of its ple. it leng | 2go became & place of pilgrimage for | summer rest and peace. Low-fare ex- | cursien trains have carried yncounta ble thoysands ef persons there. The heights west of Harpers Ferry and | ilse west of its yoynger sister, the| town of Belivar. were many times th camping ground of the District Ni tional Guard. and a very large per. centage of the men of Washington Lave camped. drilled, hiked, skirmish ed and sweated there. while legions ef their friends came yp on Sunday to , litter the company streets and dis- _Tupt camp discipline for a time. All men in Washington who fish and whe like to wyestle with the small-mouth hlack bass kmow the nymbers and fighting quality eof these that - near Harpers Ferry. All peysons in ‘Washington with meuatain-elimbing Ambition caa satisly it snd get Al- pine, Andean and Himalayan practice with Loudown Heights and Maryland Heights. What one calls “reqored histery” be- gins for Harpers Ferry nearly as far baek as 1760. but white men were there pefers the veeord of settiement begine, gnd unknown centuries befor: the ceming ef the first white ma Indiens treking., roaming, huntiag,| north and seyth 3nd east and west used the pagsege through the Blu Ridge where the Potomac 3nd th: Shensmdoah come together. i The place came te be called Harpers Perry. when Romert Harper set up 3, ferry or teok ever an older ferry| there abeut 1747. Te became the site | of a United Btat. there were fabricated cannon. mys. kets, rifles. pistols. bayonets. sword and other equipment of the American Army. Gearge Washingten chese the plage for that purpese, because of its remateness {rom the sea and danger from an enemy. its abundaat pow- er and its esse of communicatian with and trangport to tidewater gnd the eapital by means of the river and canal route frem the Alleghemies— a link in the lake-te-sea route, pre- jected amd prometed by Washington and iomae Improvement forerunner of Ohie cangl. The attack on i { | i Cempany, the| armory in 1796. and | ynd tuitio of the Bhenandoah valley opening into ’ in 1768 in Oxford. England. Harper par- the Potamae valley and to roads lead- ing te the Monocacy valley, to the rear of Wi ingten, to South Mountain, to Antietam, to Gettysburg and per- haps—if the nerthern Army of the Potomac could pe overthrown—lead- ing on te Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York. figured in many plans @nd several campaigns of the armies of the north and seuth. * ¥ k¥ Tehunlen in thée life of Harpers Ferry. The first welild treat of the Indisng and pioneers, the first white settler, the regular purchase of the land and the settlement on it of Rob- ert Harper, the founder. The second echapter might be the ineorporation of the town, the inevease in population, the building of mills, homes, churches. @ scheolhouse and a bridge. The thifd might deal with the estabiishment of the naiional gun, rifle and other plants, the erection of homes for offi- cers and workmen and the develop- ment and activities of that govern- ment workshop for more than half a century. The_ fourth chapter would | | HERE may be said to be five broad | consisti l deal with the Jehn Brown affair. gen- | erully ealled John Brown's “raid.” and | the fifth chapter would treat of the eivil war pericd. One supplementary chaptar would be given over to Har- pers Ferry since the eivil war. its rise nd decline a manufacturing town, s prospeets of becoming one ugain, ts rise as a summer resort and place of military encampments. Another supplementary chapter should treat of the establishment and progress of Storer College, “one of the oldest in- stitutions of learning for colored euth in the United States; estab- ished as a heme missionary enter- ; exemplifying in its faculty and il positive type of religious life; wholly umsectarian in all that enters into the edyeation of the young men and wemen who study within its hajls, but insisting that education is jere valye te humanity when per- ith the spirit and teachings en that subject should be of abuorbing amd pious interest. It would be @ story of the work of white men and women of high education. fine temperament and lofty idealr, and ¢ the strumgles and sacrifices of col- ed boys and girls, of geod mind, yood merals and jyst ambition. to be- come splendidly " uscful peaple. In that chapter weuld be many. many stories of the sucrifices and economies hich these boys and girls make te pay the very small cost of their hoard n “The stories would el j of the valye which these people put ypen & doilar, a quarter, a dime—lit- tle stories which. T am sure, would touch deeply those of you who look wn dimes and quarters, and even a dollar, now gnd then, trifles. But you certainly cannot expect to have 311 these chapters in e Te ong, full, varied life story of Harpers Ferry set Tefere you in one newspaper story. The Woman's Club of Harpers Ferry issues qugrterly a small four-page wpaper—the Moyntain Echo. The num- pertly consummateq by the Po-! ber for August, 1919, was called “The special laeal history wumber, including the Chesapeake and sketches ef the history of Harpers and cap-) Ferry, ef the Harper house and ceme- | ased the squaiter's claims. besides & large t of land from the Lord Vairfax gra for 0 guineas in gold. In 1768 the town incorporated as Harpers Ferry by the geaeral wembly of Virginia. Hobert Harper died in and is buried in the Harper cemetery on Camp Hidl. In 1706 Gen. Washington purchased from the Harper family 123 acres of land, to be used for an armory site. Washington himsell made the surv and draft, recognisiog the value of the splendid water powsr there. mid by some 1o be the finest in the Uni‘ed Bi Later the goverament purchased 300 ing of Rolivar heights and wooded land on loudoun heights. In 1589 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company agreed f for the privilege of croasing the Wager the ferry. later the railrosd company the ferry. The B. and O. bridge at the jum # tion of the rivers being the key that ualacked the tressures of the valley of Virgiaia, was destroyed nine times during the civil war and the town itself changed from Union to Oom- federate hands eight times. In those tmm days Harpers Verry suffered severely. Thor- oughly crippled by ‘the ruvages of war and by the devastation of recurrent s, the omce flourishing town is now iike Bir Redivere old—nothing more than & ‘'volee” jn the halls of history. The industrial glory of the pizce is_gone, but rich in renown for its unrivaled scenery and historiesl aswciotions. Hirper's Verry ‘will ever stand 8 mecca for sighisecing D of the As & summer resort justly cel- invigorating mouatain air. for fshing. camping and other hesith(id yecre- ations, several hotels aud numerous cotlages | provide entertainmant for guests and a sum- of wealthy families from neighboring citiow maintain symmer residences on the beautiful heights everlaoking the two towns (Harper's Ferry and Bolivar), * % ¥ ¥ ON E of the busy places of the town Is the railroad station. Often it is the busiest. Kignt trains from the West to Washington stop there be- tween morning and evening and six trains from Washington to the west stop. Six valley trains come and go Letween morning and night. Up in the signal tower, with a row of long steel levers and with telegraph in- struments sounding, sits the mayor of Harper's Ferry. He Is C. E. Mar- latt. Harper's Ferry is governed by & mayor and city council elected an- nually. There is a city recorder. the office being filled now by Dr. Henry T. McDonald. The city treasurer is Willls Cross. who is also the city po- liceman. The city councilmen are Leo O'Beirne, James Shewbridge, A. Kaplon, C. M. La Ruc and W. A, Walsh. Before leaving the station You want to meet the agent, L. D. Nichels, and the clerk, W. F. Butts. W. F. Butts is Frank Butts, formerly of Washington. He was secretary of the real estate firm of Robinson & Co., which had offices at 613 14th street and which opened up Columbia Heights, 14th Street Heights, Connecticut _Avenue Highlands, adjoining Cleveland Park; Silver Spring "Park and other subdi- visions. ~Frank's mother and grand- mother were born in Harper's Ferry, though Loudoun was his birth coun He is happy with his family at Har- per's Ferry and he sends his love to old friends in Washingt Besides Mayor Marlatt, Agent Nichols and Frank Butts, there are at the sta- tion F. A. O'Belrne. Raymond Lan- caster, J. E. W. Benjamin, J. M. Mo- ten, . Poots. P. E. Winner. G. L. Dafley, J. M. Nichols, W. H. Wetzel, A. W. Shewbridge and W. F. Ande They are friends of all traveler O'Beirne huas been baggagemaster there for a quarter of a century und| everybody who carries a grip on the | B. and O. calls him “Huck.” Ray-{ mond Lancaster is the night ticket agent when he isn't playing base ball. As you come down the station plat-| form steps you see the long frame| lunchroom of City Councilman Leo O'Beirne. There is a famous old din- ing car cook there whom all the world—in that section of Harper's Ferry—call “Pidgey.” “Pldgey’ has traveled more miles in a dining car and cooked for a greater mumber of | famous men—and the other kind— thsn most persons who read these lines. A few steps brings you to the post office, where Mrs. T. M. Connor will hand you a letter—if there is one for you. Next door is the Hotel Conpor. "T. M. ran it for many years, but the good old landlord passed away about two years ago, and the Connor is mow run by A. §. Cooper and his wife. You remember that the lcng, wide room on the right of the ontrance was an apartment which {in bygone davs was called a bar. | That is now the dining room. Gen- | erations of Natienal Guardsmen {crowded that reom before the prac- | tice of serving solld food in it was begun. And while on the subject of hotels, one must think of the Hilitop House, which has been running a long time and has been burned down twice, or maybe thrice, but which | nery shop before her. big dining room was upstairs and a! for Miss Jessie's mother kept « milli- In these row of business houses vou see the general merchandise siores of Charles W. Demory, W. A. (Billy) Walsh, the department’ store of Wiil and Mary Eilen Doran, the store of Miss Emma Higgins and her sister and the mcat Littleton) and Charles Schutz. Car- roll White's lunchroom also in the block. Many old Washington guards- men and excursionists will recall Carroll as having been a policeman and many of us met him. We are now opposite the barber. shop of Ed- gar Brunswick, and lke, as every- body calls him, can give you a Sat- urday night shave that will last until Monday. Then we don't want to for- get Charlie Johnson's cleaning and pressing parlor, where old coats and trousers are made to look like new. But we have come near forgetting the bank. Its titie is The Bank of Hurpers ¥erry, was organized in 1834, an President. T. J. Burleigh; vice presi- dent. 8. W. Lightner: cashier, John C. Newcomer: directors, W Walsh John C. mon, Dr. ner. The organization of a chamber of commerce is under way. At present the water supply of Harpers Ferry is generally from’ slate-roofed cisters and the water is filtered through brick walls. Storer College pumps water to a tank and private houses stands on its rocky perch today a splendid structure in stone. T. S. Lovett still runs it, and speaking of Tom reminds me that the Lockwood | JOHN BROWN'’S FORT. House is the oldest now doing busi- ness at Harper's Ferry and is con- | ducted by Mrs. A. P. Daniel, a daugh- |ter of Mrs. Lovet who was the mother of Tom. Another of the fa- mous hotels at “The Ferry” is the Shenandoah Inn, now run by Mrs. Louise Thompson. Let us go back to the post office. There is the familiar little band stand at the bass of the rallroad terrace and at the corner of the main street, Shenandoah, and the street that led to Tom Jones' stable—Potomac Street— is Wailter Dittmeyer's drug store and on its site, say the local historians of The Ferry, stood the log cabin of Peter Btevens. the first white man to settle at the junction of the Shenan- doah and the Potomac and whose ‘squatter right” was bought by Rob- ert Harper. Walter and his assistant, Dr. L. D. Duke. are among the im- portant citizen: Next door. Dr. D. 8. Nichols — Shirjey Nichols —has opened a drug store and among other things is serving soda water. And, speaking of soda water. thousands of you muyst remember the old brick brewery which stood on the river side of Shenandoah ptreet up near the pulp mill. It is a ruin today. One of the stores in the downtown section of Shenspdoah street bears the sign 3 La Rua” That .}oer ;mt mufl very mueh to yoy angiers for smal l!:z(l black bass, but C. M. La Rue i{s “Buck” La Rue, whom every man krows well 'nllo has gll‘l s cast in the rivers at ors Ferry. Along the n‘l‘:’:t in this neighbor- hood sre the ice cream parior of Mis: Mollie Murphy, the Shenandoah ga: rage, run by I. 8. Glass, who is Bnu- e larly known as “lzzy”; W. W. ory's (Wi eneral merchandise store, and A. apion's department near the college have connection with this service. There are private pump- ing plants elsewhere in the city. Late- ly Dr. Davis, hydraulic engineer from the University of West Virginia, was applied to for a survey for a water supply system for Harpers Ferry and Bolivar. The survey has been made and the report with an estimate of cost is awaited. As so far organized the chamber of commerce comprises about forty of the progressive citi izens. The president is J. C. Newcomer; secretary, H. T. McDonald, and treas- urer, W. E. Dittmever. There is to be an executive committee of six members, the officers being members by virtue of their office, while the other members are yet to be chosen. Harpers Ferry and Boliver have a school_building, which, when erected in 1912 at & cost of $60,000, was sec- ond to none in West Virginia and to- day it is a commodious, well appoint- ed and very handsome structure. Ad- ministration and instruction are sat- isfaetory to the citizens, the girls and boys turned out from the classrooms stand as the best citizens of the state, and the children still in the class- rooms are healthy, happy and bright. The principal of schools in the H pers Ferry district is O. W. Johnson. The teachers in _the Senior High School are Miss Harriet Major and Miss Katherine Walker; teacherg in the Junior High School, Miss Vir- ginia Rider and Miss Leona Comp- ton; grade teachers, Mrs. Bertha Baker Furr, Migs Mary Gardner, Miss Grace Fristoe and Miss Boswell. The members of the school bosrd are M. S. R. Moler of Engle, Jefferson coun- ty; W. G. Pringle of Halltown and C.'D. Carter of Bakerton. * % ok X Tfl store. Abe is & member of the city council and one of the prominent and prosperous citizens. * %% % Tm you must stop and speak with the village blacksmith. It is not s garage, it is an honest-to-goodness blscksmith shop whers the smith will bammar the shos te fit the hoof and will net pare the hoof to fit the Y There 8re no spreading ohest- lu’!"tnn before the shop and not - oven & horse chestaut tree. They are silver maples, and the smith's name is George Korn, and it's all right just to rll im George. S yo? 8re & woman, and perhaps some of yeu are. you will want to stop In front of the window of Miss Jessie Graham's millinery shop, one of the old institytions of The Ferry, E ohurch whick you all see on arriving at Harpers Ferry, and which may be seen from afar becaus it stands on a hilltop and has a ftall steeple with a gilded cross, is St. Peter's, Catholic. The priest is the Rev. Father J. A. Curran. It is told thet St. Peter's was the only church which held service at Harpers Fer- ry regularly throughout the civil war, the Rev. Father McGill being the riest during that trying period. In- scription on the corner stone of the church tells that it was erectad in 1830 and rebuilt in The usual way of reaching this stone church is by leaving Washington street, which is the principal street, and elimbing the staircase which has been hewn in the rock hillside. The View repsym the climb even though the luug and the solemn church do mot mo: oy to say & prayer. z ge-r u{e n‘:ad! of the stone steps for markets of Frye und Littleton (Frank | its officers and directors are:| built about 1780, and which du z all HARPERS FERRY AND BOLIVAR HIGH SCHOOL. 1 |is the house which Robert Harper|the the vears that have passed has re- | miained in possession of the founder's heirs. Climbing to higher ground at the rear of St. Peter's stand the walls of @ very old Episcopal Church. They are of native rock, undressed, cov- {ered with cement and lined to repre- sent large blocks of free stone. Vines have overgrown the walls and it is a pathetic yet interesting sight, but 80 closely do trees embrace the ruin and so dark are their shadows that The Star man coyld not photograph It. The present Episcopal Church is St. John's. There is a Methodist Protes. tant Church at Harpers Ferry, the tor of which is the Rev. E. W. Simms, and there is 3 Methodist Epis- copal Church at Bolivar, with the Rev. A. R. Snedegar as pastor. There is n Presbyterian Church at ‘“The Ferry. and the only Bapt Chuyrch is the |Colored Free Baptist Church. Railroading is the principal indus- try at Harpers Ferry, many of the jmen of the town working at Bruns- | wick, a division point of the Balti- {more and Ohio & few miles east. The Harpers Ferry Light and Power Com- pany utilizes a small part of the power of the Potomac, and there are two pulp mills, one owned by the Shenandosh Puip Company and the other by the Harpers Ferry Paper Company. W. H. Savery Is president of the Shenandoah Pulp Company and of the light and power company. There is also at Harpers Ferry a knit- ting factory of the Interwoven mil |the local “manager Wentzell. One of the industries of Harpers Ferry is base ball, and they have a team which would like to hear from Washington teams. The players are J. E. Benjamin, R. M. Lancaster. W. P. Unger. F. W. Walker, Geerge Slifer, Garlie Hooe. Charles Gaber, Gilbert Bugzard, William LaRue, Harry Shultz, Sam Murphy, Frank Mauzy, Charley Koonce, Waiter Manuel, Sam Jones and Ben Sponseeler. The Star man asked one of these players to give him a few facts about the team. which, by the way, is called the Harpers Ferry Mountain Rangers, and the player wrote what follows: Harpers Perry Momtain Rangers—Ourryin Sfteen piasers. Played thirteen Fames, lost one. this State League of Virginia, 3 to 2, eight- een inniogs. Our pitcher, Beafamin. who has pitched all of the games, winning Sve games left-banded, allowing only fourteen hits and t being Maurice n bat i ighteen hits a rtee nd fourteen mes, only Fae. B se bats in clean-up pesition, batting a: 1 Lascaster, who is playin; exeellent brand of base ball at first. ding the team In batting, at .530, and Le has slso stolen ninetsen heses. made two heme rums, eight triples and seven doubles and has played an 28 game at Grst so far. Six of the players are batting sround 400 mark. Our cu nger, whe has reeeived of Benj pitching, is playil great game, has thrown cut nineteen men so far and has saved the team from defeat by wonderful hatting is pinehes and grest catches at the plate. He bas alse stolen twelve bases. High up on Washington etreet, the street which leads to and through Bolivar, is an eld frame building of large dimensions. Once it was Jona- dab Hall It was also the opers house. Many troupes of players used to “hold the boards” in thet ancient audi- torium. New few troupes come. There is & moving picture theater, and the town takes ity drama on the screen. The old opera house is now a garage run by the Thayer brothers, the younger of whom served in France with distinction. One_of the familiar figures of Har- pers Ferry whom many of you kmow but who has passed “over the river,” was old Mr. Riley, keeper of the toll bridges. The present tolltaker is F. W. Drew. The old Baitimore and Ohio railroad bridge over the Potomac and the bridge over the Shenzndoah are still toll brides owned by the Harpers Ferry Bridgs Company. Of course, thers is & Masonic lodge in Harpers Ferry. It is A. F. and A. M. No. 20, and on a balconied buildin, with a astuceo front om Shenandogh street is this inscription, “Masonic Hall. Erected June 24, 1845.” There is also an Odd Fellows’ lodge —IL 0. 0. F, Ne. 1. It was the first lod, in old Virginis _and held the same number in West Virginia There are Sons of Jonadab in Harpers Ferry and they were or!:ml.d by the Jona~ dabs of Washington, * ¥ ¥ ¥ THE health of Harpers Ferry is ex- cellent, but three physicians and one dentist have offices there. The physicians are Dr. Briscoe Ransen. Dr, W. E. Perry and Dr. C. C. Johnson. Dr. T. C. Stotler is the dentis In the old part of the Harper come- tery, which is en a hilitop near the clouds, you will come upon the grave and tombstone of the founder of l-fi‘rpm Ferry. The stone is inscrib- ed: 1s memery of Robert Harper, the founder of Ha ‘s Bern 1718, Oxfe 2 oy iy B R M Lo T by his great-sephow, Johs Wager Bwnyme. In the Harper plot lie many of his kin and you may read the following inseriptions: Jokn Wager. Bers September 28, 1772; Died 1912. Nis wife, Ostherine By g:nwlngl-bur 11, 1T75; Died December 3':: S iward Wager. Born November 4, 1785 Died September 29, 1826. I Fimmen Batc Wagner, Bora 1801: Died 1888, John Willism Wager. Rorn 1802; Died 1828. John Wager. Sr., 1747;: Died 1508. re. Mary Hi Beelig. Bora {n Philad arper ph: ugust 3rd. 1776: Died Jume 12, 1874, st Washington. D. C. Major Philjp Wager, U. §. A.. Born Octeber 27, 1790; Die® November 25, 1885. It was about 1730 that Rebert Har- per, ecarpenter and millwright, emi- rated from England to the United tates. If he did not land at Phila. delphia, he at least followed his trade mpioyed ta srect s chsch bundIaR employed to e: church building- l:’-onu members of the Society of Friends, whoe had just settled on Ope- uon creek. It mmy be o, but the nds would have directed him to bulld maeating house. Bcotch and Trish were the plonesrs im the valley of Virginia sad they, established bomes on Opequon creek. near where Wash- ington stands. German immigrants| followed close upon them. Joist Hite, | in 1732, obtained a grant of 40.000 | acres and at the head of sixteen fam- | {lfes moved from Pennsylvania, cross- ‘ng the Potomac river about two miles | above Harpers Ferry. They settled | on Opequon creek five miles south of Winchester. In 1733 Jacob Stover got a grant and took in a party of | settlers. In 1731 some settlers from | I Monocacy valley in Maryland mov- | ed into the valley of Virginia and| in 1738, or very near that date. John | Lewis brought a hundred families from Ireland and Scotlund and set-| tled them near what later came to be Staunton. i At any’ rate, Robert Harper started | from Philadelphia to build 4 church on Opequon creek. not far from the site of Winchester. He came by way of Fred- | erickiown, in which, at that time, was | only one house, that of 2 German named | Hoffman. Harper would have taken the | route into the valley of Virginia, which | those before him had taken, but Hoff- though harder, to go by way of “The | man told him it would be nearer, Hole.” Harper traveled that wav and found one Peter Stevens living there, i the only white inhabitant of the region. Harper bought out Stevens and per- | fected his title by getting a_deed from Lord Fairfax or his agent. Harper took up his abode in the Stevens cabin and ened a ferry over both rivers. Travel F.ued that way and settlers, moving nto the valley of Virginia in large num- bers brought proeperity to Harper. Se far as known, Robert Harper was not married. He bequeathed his property to Sarah Harper, daughter of his brother i Joseph, living in Philadelphia. She had married 2 man named Wager at Phila- delphia, and some of their descendants came 10 live on the land left by Robert. And their descendants are living there today. When you stand in the old cemetery on the hill you will no doubt see what is called Jefferson's rock. The following is taken from the Mountain Echo of the Woman’s Club of Harpers Ferry Jeffernon’s Rock—in itself a great natural euriosity —receives ita e and e from Thomas Jeflersou. who the seclusivn ol this umigue and beautifel s stody. gini thiz ‘point of the awe-inspiring chasm Gap) worn through thie mountains by the ero sion of waters in sume prehistoric sge. was well worth & vovage hevond the Atlantic to behold. ~ As a memorial to Jefferson the. gov- ernment provided pillars to support the cap sione of the grest rock. which stone at that time endangered the lives and property of vil- lagers below. pot for & natural where he wrmte hix N Jefferson's Notes on Virginia” were written in 1781, and ‘“corrected and enlarged” in 1 Here follows Mr, Jef- ferson’s description of Harpers Ferry The passage of the Poto: Ridge is perhaps one of o scenes in nature. You stan point of lund. On sour right Suenandosh. buving tanged niong the the mountai hupdred miles o seek 8 vent On your left approsches the Poiomac in ques of a passage also. In the moment of their func- tion they rush against the mountzin, resd it asunder and pass off to the sea. The first glance at this scene hurries our senses into the opinion thut this earth has been created in time, tiat the mountains were formed first, that the rivers began to fow aft- | been filled ove .;:Harpers Ferry Gains Nation-Wide Renown for Its Historic Associations war between rivers and mountains whi-s must have shaken the earth to its center 1t is traditional and altogether plaus- ible that the point of view at which Mr. Jefferson received the impressions which he committed to writing was the hill which rises steeply from town of Harpers Ferry, and which is appro- priately called Cemetery hill The old brick fire engine house of the United States Armory was taken down in 1832, transported to Chicago and crected at the world fair. In 1585 it was bought by Miss Kate Field and brought back to Harpers Ferry. Its site had by the Baltimore and Ohio in realigning the grade of the ro and Miss Field hud the relic rebuilt on |a tract of land on the Shenandoah about a mile or two from the locally known as *the Murphy Mixs Field planned a national memorial park to John Brown. but died before the plan was realized. Storer Colizge bought the old brick structure and college grounds. There it stands today A marble slab has been inserted in the walls, bearing this inscription: That this Nation might have a new birth of freedom. tnat siavers should be removed from American @oil, John Brown and Lis twenty-one men gave their lives To commemorate their heroism this tablet placed on this as John Brown' s ng. which has been known Fort. by the Alumni of Storer Coliege, 1915. * % * % ImDIAT}:L\ after the civil war missionaries of the Free Baplst Church engaged in educational and | spiritual uplift work amonz freedmen in the Shenandoah valley. This work was under supervision of the Rev. N C Brackett, who was also superintendent of schools in that part of the countrv for the freedmen's bureau. In Febru- ary, 1867, the Rev. O. B. Cheney wvisited John Storer of Sanford, Me, in behaif of Bates College, 2nd during the conver- sation Storer said he would give $10,000 to socicty which would raise an equal sum for founding a school in the south for colored people. The Free Baptists accepted the proposa and with some government aid obtained som throuzh the serviess of Gen. O. O. How- ard, Secretary Stanton and Senator Fes- senden met the conditions of Mr. Storer’s gift. The Baptists bought a ffts-acre farm out of the Bolivar tract. The school was opened October 2, 1867, in the Lockwood House on Camp Hill. a house in which Mr. Brackett’s school had been ducted, and was a gover building which had been the residence of an Army officer. The principal was Mr. Brackett and his assistant Mrs. M. W L Smith of Maine. There were nineteen pupils The government by act of Con- gress turned over to the school, now Storer College, a group of four dilapi- TOMB OF ROBERT HARPER. dated government buildings and seve acres of land. The progress of S College has been guite remarkuble, ar its aims and achievements are com- mended by neariy everybody. The executive board are Henry T. Mc- A STAIRWAY IN THE ROCK HILLSIDE. erward, that in this place particularly they Bave been dammed up by the Blu Ridge of mountains and have formed an ocean which filied the whole valley, that continuing to rise they have at length Lroken over at this spot and have torn the mountain down from its summit te its base The piles of rock on ecach tieularly on the Shenapdouli; ¢ of their dlsrupture and evulsion from beds by the most powerful agents of m corroborate the impression. But the d nishing which mature has given to the of & very different character. It is contrast to the foreground. delightful es that is wild 1 the mountain being cloven asunder she presents | to your eye through the cleft s mmnall patch of | smooth bive horison at an infimite distance in | the plain country. inviting yom. as it were, | from the riot and tumult roaring around fo! pess through the breach and participate in the calm below. Here the ese ultimately composes itself, and that way, too. the road happens to ) 1t is &3 placid and | true | d_tremendous. Donald, chairman; Scott W. Lightner Mrs. Alice M. Metcalf, secretary; John O. Aglionby and Mrs. Lura Brackeit Lightner. The faculty: Henry T. Mec- Donald, Hillsdale, A.B., AM, Ped. B Harvard, professional dies science Mrs. Lura Bracke(t Lightner, Western State Normal, Me., Lapham Inetis 1. preceptress: Mrs. Louise Wool Bracket:, Maine State Seminary. Har- vard School of Ari. drawing: Elia Vie- toria Smith, Storer, Marthas Viney Summer Institute. Knglish, bookkeepin, Mrs. Eizabeth M. McDonald, Hillsdal AB. AM., French history: Eligabe Sims, Storer, Hillsdale, Cheyenne Inst tute, plain sewing ; William Ricard Per. gov. carpentry, woodwork ; Henry H ter Winters, gardening, husbandry : W liam Allen Saunders, mathematics, sc ence; John Wesiey McKinney, band lead. You cross the Potomae above the juction, pass along its side through the base of the meuntain for three miles, its terrible precipices banging in fragments over you, and within twenty miles reach Frederickiown and the fine eoustry areund that. This scone is worth ¢ voyage lentic. Yet here, 85 in the neig! bave passed e re_pepole who e ieen whouin naif 4 donen miles and have Perer been ta, #urvey ibess moBumenis of & serogs the At- hborbood of the (- master, orchestra: Sarah A. Benedict. English ; Harriet Dudley Church, Laun: Carlotta Stevens Slater, music; Mrs. M M. W. Arter, hair dressing and mani- curing; Birneisis 1. Motte, training teacher; Mrs. Susan Drew, English: J. William Drew, mathematics; Sarah Re becon Moore, social science; Katherine Alar TP O science. ’