This Scene is worth the trip across the Atlantic. (Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S President, 1783)
I recently visited my son and his wife who now lives in Frederick, Maryland, USA.
The area of America was originally populated with Europeans, mostly German, hence the many German sounding towns, such as Frederick, Gettysburg and Chambersburg, with a smattering of English sounding towns, namely, Cumberland, Carlisle, Bedford, and York
We visited a small historic town of Harpers Ferry, this town, which is located in Jefferson County, West Virginia, near the Blue Ridge Mountains and at the joining of the Shenandoah River (now there are the lyrics of a very well know song, can you name it?) and Potomac River, which continues to flow to Washington D.C. I was very surprised to learn of the history of this small town, it has a population of only 269, but thousands of visitors arrive throughout the year.
A link to information about Harpers Ferry can be found here.
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal
Harpers Ferry as mentioned stands on a small headland where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers join, but it is also the site of the first man made canal in the USA, this being the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, this was used to transport various cargo’s from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington D.C. Unfortunately, the arrival of the railways saw the decline and ultimate closure of the canal.
A link to more information about the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal can be found here.
Railroads
The first railway company to begin services to Washington was the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, with the creation of Harpers Ferry station, with two bridges which cross the Potomac River and enters the Harpers Ferry Tunnel on the eastern shore of the river. We were standing not 6 feet away for the railway, when three massive locomotives trundled past us pulling a huge, long train containing gravel, the train took over 5 minutes to pass us.
Rivers
We walked along the shore of the Shenandoah River when we came across a flood marker, the height of these floods was shocking, the highest mark being 29.4 feet above where we stood which was the flood of January 1996.
When we were there the Shenandoah River was flowing high and fast due to the recent high levels of rainfall from Storm Helene falling in the mountains, the water being dark brown in colour, however when we walked along the rail bridge which crosses the Potomac River, these water s were crystal clear, a strange phenomenon to view.
A link to more information about the Shenandoah River can be found here.
A link to more information about the Potomac River can be found here.
Jefferson Rock
We headed up the side of the mountain to visit the Jefferson Rock, named after the man, himself, which is a rock which is perilously balanced on a lower rock, it is this view which the quote at the start of this article came from. Around 1860 the four sandstone support stones were added to prevent the top stone falling into the valley below which now contained domestic dwellings, these remain to this day.
A link to more information about Jefferson Rock can be found here.
Within the town of Harpers Ferry, the authorities are determined to hold onto the history of the town, and to help this, the locals dress in historical clothing, with notices and signage being written in a historical manner. Typical buildings that demonstrate this historical heritage are the St Peters Roman Church, with the current version being built in 1896.
The Harpers Ferry General store also demonstrates the historical elements of this town.
The day was very enjoyable, and surprisingly informative, with more memories made with my son and his wife who we don’t see enough of.
Oh, by the way, did you guess the name of the song? It is Take me Home, Country Roads, written by John Denver the lyrics can be found here.
