Wilderness Wandering

October 13,2024

We left Cleveland in the dark as a thunderstorm was letting up. 

We drove through OH, PA, MD, VA and over the border of WV. We decided to stop at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park en route to Shenandoah. We drove through the entrance gate about 1:30 PM. The parking was a zoo! We had to park way past the parking lot on some grass. 

We hiked to the Visitor Center and learned that the anniversary of John Brown’s Uprising was October 16th. They had many special events going on today. 

We walked the 1.7 mile trail into the historic town of Harpers Ferry. What a well preserved historic site! We learned that Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and was very prone to flooding. 

Some of the historically important buildings no longer exist, but they have preserved the footprints of the buildings and provided good historical markers. 

We watched a 20 minute film about why the town was important before and after John Brown. 

One of the most interesting things we learned was about Storer College. Before the Civil War it was illegal to teach people of color to read. After the war, abolitionist John Storer bequeathed $10,000 to start a college as long as it was open to both sexes and all races. For 88 years, until Brown vs. The Board of Education, Storer College provided college education to African American men and women.  

We got a stamp in our passport since Harpers Ferry is considered a historical national park and continued about an hour and 15 minutes to the north entrance of Shenandoah NP.