Historic Furnishings Report: Exterior Furnishings of Lower Town Harpers Ferry--Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia

112 Pages·1995·5.9 MB·English

by  Heald, Sarah

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Historic Furnishings Report
EXTERIOR FURNISHINGS
OF LOWER TOWN HARPERS FERRY
HARPERS FERRY
National Historical Park/West Virginia
U.S. Department of the Interior/National Park Service
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation
http://archive.org/details/historicfurnishiOOheal
HISTORIC FURNISHINGS REPORT
EXTERIOR FURNISHINGS OF LOWER TOWN HARPERS FERRY
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
by
Sarah H. Heald
Staff Curator
Division of Historic Furnishings
Harpers Ferry Center
National Park Service
1995
APPROVED:
Terry R. Carlstrom
Deputy Regional Director, National Capitol Region
May 15, 1995
n
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
vi
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
1
OVERVIEW and INTERPRETIVE OBJECTIVES 1
OPERATING PLAN
4
PRIOR PLANNING DOCUMENTS 6
HISTORICAL DATA
7
OVERVIEW OF HARPERS FERRY'S HISTORY RELATIVE TO
EXTERIOR FURNISHINGS
7
EVIDENCE OF ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS: SOURCES 12
FURNISHINGS PLAN
15
RECOMMENDED FURNISHINGS and WORKING DRAWINGS 15
Marmion Row: Buildings 1-A, 1-B, 1-C, and 1-D 15
High Street: Buildings 37 and 16 19
West Side of Shenandoah Street, South ofHigh Street:
Buildings 48, 45, 44, 43, 40, 38 21
West Side of Shenandoah Street, North of High Street:
Buildings 12, 11, 10, and 9 25
Potomac Street: Buildings 7 and 5 28
East Side of Shenandoah Street: Buildings 33, 34, 35, and 36 29
. . .
Miscellaneous 33
ILLUSTRATIONS
35
APPENDIX
91
BIBLIOGRAPHY
97
in
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Cover. Backyards of Buildings 8, 9, and 10. Illustration by Steven N. Patricia.
Figure 1. Harpers Ferry Armory and the Point with Maryland Heights in background, 1858.
Figure 2. View ofHigh Street from Shenandoah Street - leading to the Valley Pike, by James
E. Taylor, 1864.
Figure 3. General Stevenson's Headquarters, Harpers Ferry, by A.R. Waud, 1865.
Figure 4. John Brown's Fort, Harpers Ferry, 1865.
Figure 5. Shenandoah Street, ca.1865-81.
Figure 6. High Street and Marmion Row from the west, 1873.
Figure 7. Bridge to Harper's Garden, Marmion Row, building 1-A (Harper House), ca.1880-90.
Figure 8. Marmion Row and the lower Public Walk, ca.1882-89.
Figure 9. Shenandoah Street, west end, during the flood of 1889.
Figure 10. East Shenandoah Street during the flood of 1889.
Figure 11. The John Brown Fort on its original site in the Armory Yard, 1890.
Figure 12. Shenandoah Street, ca.1890.
Figure 13. Marmion Row and the lower Public Walk, 1890s.
Figure 14. The John Brown Fort with Potomac Street and building 7 behind it, ca. 1891.
Figure 15. Shenandoah Street, ca.1894.
Figure 16. High Street, Marmion Row, and the Public Walk, ca.1895.
Figure 17. Shenandoah Street, looking west, 1898.
Figure 18. Public Walk, ca.1910.
Figure 19. A view of High and Shenandoah Streets, 1915-1920.
Figure 20. Masonic Hall, Shenandoah Street, ca.1940s.
Figure 21. Taylors Tavern - view ofLoudoun Street looking south, by James E. Taylor, 1864.
Figure 22. Dec 6th - Colonel J. Warren Keifers cont'd - 2nd Brigade 3rd Div 6th AC - Passing
through Winchester on the way to reinforce Grants Army in Front ofPetersburg,
1864, by James E. Taylor, 1896.
IV
Figure 23. View in Patrick street, looking west, 1854.
Figure 24. Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia, 1862.
Figure 25. Ruins ofthe American Hotel, Buffalo, New York, 1850.
Figure 26. Northeast corner ofSouth Street, New York City, 1867.
Figure 27. The Old Patent Office, Washington, D.C., by John Plumbe, ca.1846.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Numerous people assisted with this project, offering suggestions, research tips and
interest in what outdoor furnishings mean to the interpretation of Harpers Ferry's
history. Maureen Joseph and Perry Wheelock provided research assistance and
an ongoing interest in furnishings as part of the cultural landscape. Harpers
Ferry park staff: Dennis Frye (former Chief of Interpretation and Cultural
Resources Management), Todd Bolton (Acting Chief of Interpretation and Cultural
Resources Management) and the interpretive staff; historians Patricia Chickering,
Michael A. Jenkins, Mary Johnson, and John Barker (and their invaluable
database); curator Frank Schultz-DePalo and Michael Antonioni; and archeologists
Paul Shackel and Eric Larsen, gave generously of their time and knowledge.
Harpers Ferry Center Division of Historic Furnishings staff, Carol Petravage, Bill
Brown, John Brucksch, and Kam Sloan willingly shared their expertise as well.
Sarah Heald
VI
ADMINISTRATIVE DATA
Established by Congress in 1944 as "a public memorial commemorating historical
events at or near Harpers Ferry" (Public Law 386), Harpers Ferry National
Historical Park initially tended to focus on the 1859-1865 period. Since 1980
greater emphasis has been placed on a broader period ofinterpretation that
includes the entire nineteenth century.1
The Interpretive Prospectus for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park noted the
need for a study of exterior furnishings.2 The "Exterior Historic Furnishings
Report" was undertaken as an element of the recently-completed Cultural
Landscape Report: Lower Town, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Although the park presently has some outdoor furnishings, this study aims to
refine and further develop the exterior furnishings and to place them within the
context of park interpretive themes. When seen in conjunction with the
recommendations of the Cultural Landscape Report, exterior furnishings will
complement existing park interpretation and help highlight the history of the
town ofHarpers Ferry.
OVERVIEW and INTERPRETIVE OBJECTIVES
The 1980 Interpretive Prospectus for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
noted, "some of the buildings now have signs, stacked stove wood, and barrels as
exterior furnishings. This gives a less sterile appearance to the
town....Possibilities for additional exterior furnishings on the main streets and in
the 'courtyard' behind buildings 8 through 12 should be the subject of a study."3
The goal ofthe "Exterior Furnishings Plan" for Harpers Ferry Park, then, is to
make Lower Town more lively and help convey a sense ofthe volume and nature
of commercial and domestic activity in the town.
The Interpretive Prospectus notes a revised restoration policy whereby "...to
broaden the historical significance of the lower town for interpretation and lessen
the need for major changes to buildings, the period of historic restoration has been
1 National Park Service, InterpretiveProspectus: Harpers FerryNational Historical Park, (Harpers Ferry Center, 1980),
p. 1.
2 Ibid., p. 25.
3 Ibid.
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