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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

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Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 1 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ® 9 00 ebruary 2 F HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK A Resource Assessment ® Center for State of the Parks ® More than a century ago, Congress established Yellowstone as the CONTENTS world’s first national park. That single act was the beginning of a remarkable and ongoing effort to protect this nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Today, Americans are learning that national park designation INTRODUCTION 1 alone cannot provide full resource protection. Many parks are compromised by development of adjacent lands, air and water pollu- KEY FINDINGS 6 tion, invasive plants and animals, and rapid increases in motorized recreation. Park officials often lack adequate information on the THE HARPERS FERRY status of and trends in conditions of critical resources. NATIONAL HISTORICAL The National Parks Conservation Association initiated the State of the Parks program in 2000 to assess the condition of natural and PARK ASSESSMENT 9 cultural resources in the parks, and determine how well equipped the CULTURAL RESOURCES— National Park Service is to protect the parks—its stewardship capac- NATION’S HISTORY ON DISPLAY ity. The goal is to provide information that will help policymakers, the public, and the National Park Service improve conditions in AT HARPERS FERRY 9 national parks, celebrate successes as models for other parks, and NATURAL RESOURCES— ensure a lasting legacy for future generations. PARK PROTECTS HISTORIC For more information about the methodology and research used in preparing this report and to learn more about the Center for State VIEWS AND RARE ANIMAL of the Parks, visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks or contact: NPCA, AND PLANT SPECIES 18 Center for State of the Parks, P.O. Box 737, Fort Collins, CO 80522; STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY 26 phone: 970.493.2545; email: [email protected]. Since 1919, the National Parks Conservation Association has been APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY 32 the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhanc- ing our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come. * More than 340,000 members * 25 regional and field offices * More than 120,000 activists A special note of appreciation goes to those whose generous grants COVER PHOTO: Harpers Ferry National and donations made this report possible: Dorothy Canter, Ben and Historical Park as seen from Bolivar Heights. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. Ruth Hammett, MSST Foundation, and anonymous donors. INSET: Joy Oakes INTRODUCTION NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 1 ark erry National Historical P Harpers F Few places in the United States have seen more in 1833 and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Lower Town history than Harpers Ferry National Historical line began servicing Harpers Ferry the follow- district of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Park. The park is situated at the confluence of ing year, which further fueled industrial devel- was the stage for the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and is opment and turned the town into a transporta- several events that part of three states: West Virginia, Maryland, tion hub. John Brown targeted the federal determined the and Virginia. The town of Harpers Ferry was a armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry for his raid course of American rural hamlet up until the early 1800s when it to forward the abolition movement in 1859. history. quickly grew into a bustling industrial area The town changed hands eight times during following the construction of a federal armory the Civil War, a testament to the area’s strategic there. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal opened importance. Other historic events that occurred NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 2 ark erry National Historical P a nationally significant area in 1944, establish- ing Harpers Ferry National Monument. This Harpers F bill set aside the park as “a national public memorial commemorating historical events.” Since it was established, the park has grown in size via land purchases, private and public land donations, and exchanges of federal lands. Congress changed the park’s name to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in 1963 to “more accurately represent the site’s evolution.” Today Harpers Ferry’s authorized boundary includes about 3,745 acres of important cultural sites CATHERINE NORRIS and diverse habitats, including hardwood forests, historic town lands, open and agricul- at Harpers Ferry include Meriwether Lewis’s tural fields, wetlands and riparian areas, archae- 1803 visit to purchase weapons and other hard- ological sites, historic structures, and cultural ware from the armory for his cross-country landscapes. Three other national parks pass expedition, the largest surrender of Union through Harpers Ferry: a section of the troops during the American Civil War, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Chesapeake establishment of one of the earliest integrated and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, and colleges in the United States, and the second the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. conference of the Niagara Movement. The park’s wealth of cultural resources After years of lobbying by residents, includes the federal armory’s fire engine and Congress officially recognized Harpers Ferry as guard house that is now known as John Brown’s Fort. It was within this building that HARPERS FERRY NATIONAL HISTORICAL John Brown and his men sought shelter during PARK AT A GLANCE their failed raid in 1859. Most of the other armory buildings, which supplied arms and metalwork to a host of clients that included • Location: Parklands fall within West Virginia, Maryland, and Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery, Virginia, at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac did not survive the Civil War. The ruins of Rivers. many of them now lie buried beneath 1890s • Year of establishment: 1944 railroad track embankments. Another impor- tant historic structure is the Lockwood House, • Park size: Authorized boundary encompasses 3,745 acres; an early government building that later became about 3,645 are currently federally owned and under Park home to Storer College, one of the nation’s first Service jurisdiction. 3 integrated colleges. • Annual number of visitors: 249,908 in 2007 ark The park’s cultural landscapes include the early industrial center of Virginius Island, Camp • Premier cultural resources: Harpers Ferry National Historical Hill, the Lower Town district, and the battlefield Park preserves landscapes that include the Civil War battle- where Confederate and Union troops squared field and the historic Lower Town area; numerous historic off in 1862, ending with the largest Union structures, including John Brown’s Fort and the Lockwood surrender of the war. The park’s museum and House; and a variety of museum artifacts relating to the archives are extensive and contain items such as town’s early industrial period, John Brown’s Raid, the Civil the John Brown family Bible; original weapons War, and the area’s African-American history. erry National Historical P and equipment made in or used at Harpers • Special natural resources: Harpers Ferry hosts rare plant and Ferry; Storer College library books; and period animal species as well as uncommon vegetative habitats (i.e., industrial equipment and tools. Harpers F limestone red-cedar glades and low-elevation montane Harpers Ferry National Historical Park also forests). The park’s limestone red-cedar glades are small, preserves important natural resources that consisting of two parcels of less than an acre in size, and four include several dozen species of state-listed rare areas, approximately 10 acres total, that have the potential to or endangered plants, such as limestone be restored to this habitat type. The park’s other rare plant adder’s-tongue (Ophioglossum engelmannii), habitats are the low-elevation montane forests anchored by fringeleaf wild petunia (Reullia humilis), and eastern hemlock trees. broadleaf ironweed (Vernonia glauca)—which are all found within the park’s limestone red- • Recreational activities: Visitors to Harpers Ferry National cedar glade ecosystems. The park also features Historical Park may tour the park on guided ranger walks, historic views from Jefferson Rock and from the hike some of the park’s 18 miles of trails, view more than 150 cliffs on Maryland and Loudoun Heights. historic structures, and learn more about the history of the Thomas Jefferson visited the rock outcropping area via interpretive waysides and exhibits. Local lodging, that now bears his name in 1783, observing restaurants, and shops serve park visitors and provide for that the view was “stupendous and worth a their needs. voyage across the Atlantic.” Today Jefferson Rock is one of the park’s most recognized and visited natural historic resources. Park staff work with local officials, conservation groups, and other stakeholders to preserve from devel- opment the scenic views from Jefferson Rock and other vantage points. Note: When interpreting the scores for resource conditions, recognize that critical information upon which the ratings are based is not always available. This limits data interpretation to some extent. For Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, 100 percent of the cultural resource infor- mation was available and 72 percent of the information required by the natural resource methodology was available. RESOURCE CATEGORY CURRENT CULTURAL RESOURCES Overall conditions 83 GOOD Archaeology 83 4 Cultural Landscapes 80 Ethnography (Peoples and Cultures) N/A ark Historic Structures 82 History 83 Museum Collection and Archives 85 RATINGS SCALE 0–35 36–60 61–80 81–90 91–100 CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT NATURAL RESOURCES erry National Historical P Overall conditions 75 FAIR Environmental and Biotic Measures 79 Harpers F Biotic Impacts and Stressors 71 Air 83 Water 86 Soils 80 Ecosystems Measures 69 Species Composition and Condition 67 Ecosystem Extent and Function 69 RATINGS SCALE 0–35 36–60 61–80 81–90 91–100 CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT The findings in this report do not necessarily reflect past or current park management.
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