By Bob Tagert

For this month’s Road Trip we decided to combine two events into the trip. We started our trip by going to Morven Equestrian Center in Leesburg, Virginia on September 19 to enjoy the last match before the close of the Polo Season, with Team USA vs Thailand. The Old Town Crier has been a proud sponsor of this event for the last two years. As usual, the place was packed with folks out for an evening of first-class Polo. After the event we decided to spend the night in Leesburg and head out in the morning for Harpers Ferry…our Road Trip destination.

Harpers Ferry is relatively a short distance from Leesburg right up US Rt. 340. The drive through the mountains of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia was beautiful. By the time you read this, the leaves will have begun to change into their fall wardrobe. It is a perfect time of the year to take that drive.

Harpers Ferry is noted for its beautiful terrain as it is set between the junction of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. Harpers Ferry lies at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, on the ancestral home of the Tuscarora and Shawnee people. Here you can explore John Brown’s raid against slavery. Enjoy a walking tour of the town and find your connection to the struggle for freedom, education, and civil rights at Storer College. There are also miles of trails in the Blue Ridge and along Civil War battlefields.

Originally named “Harper’s” Ferry after an 18th-century ferry owner, the town lost its apostrophe in 1891 in an update by the United States Board on Geographic Names. Besides being a quaint town that is nestled between the two rivers, Harpers Ferry gained fame in 1859 when abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory in a doomed effort to start a slave rebellion in Virginia and across the South. During the American Civil War, the town was the northernmost point of Confederate-controlled territory, and changed hands several times due to its strategic importance. The Shenandoah and Potomac rivers were of significant importance for navigation during the war, although the ‘steps’ or white water portion of the Shenandoah was difficult passage. Today, these steps attract whitewater enthusiasts year-round.

Harpers Ferry, an antebellum manufacturing hub, has long since oriented its economy around tourism after being largely destroyed during the Civil War. Harpers Ferry is home to John Brown’s Fort, the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail, whose midpoint is nearby, the former campus of Storer College (a historically black college established during Reconstruction), and one of four national training centers of the National Park Service. Note: John Brown’s Fort is West Virginia’s most visited tourist site.

As one can imagine, much of the lower town, which was in ruins by the end of the Civil War and ravaged by subsequent floods, has been rebuilt and preserved by the Harpers Ferry National Park Service.

On October 25, 1783, Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry as he was traveling to Philadelphia. Viewing “the passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge” from a rock that is now named for him as Jefferson’s Rock, he called the site “perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature” and stated, “This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic.” That scene remains today and you can sit on Jefferson’s Rock and enjoy the same view. Jefferson County, in which Harpers Ferry is located, was named for him on its creation in 1801. Lots of history here folks.

Now that you’ve been given a brief history lesson, let’s talk about the fun side of Harpers Ferry (HF). The OTC actually had distribution in Jefferson County for a few years in the late 90’s so naturally our first stop was the Jefferson County Visitors Center. I highly suggest that if you haven’t already made the trek to this amazing part of WV, that you make this your first stop as well. Patrick Perfetto was behind the desk on the Sunday we were there and he got us caught up on local happenings. I hope you are lucky enough to have him manning the desk during your stop!

We are familiar with the area, and the parking situation in the heart of town during the week isn’t too bad but we weren’t going to risk wasting valuable time looking for a space on a beautiful fall Sunday so decided to take advantage of the plentiful parking and shuttle located at the National Harpers Ferry Park Service Visitors Center located just across the road from the Jefferson County VC. Since this is a National Park, entrance fees are charged – $20 per car, $15 per motorcycle, $10 per person walking/biking. The parking and the shuttle are included in the price of the park entrance fee. If you choose to park in “Lower Town” the fee is automatically charged via your license plate/EZPass.

The upside of the shuttle, other than not having to look for parking, is that they run continuously throughout the day and drop you off where the historic buildings that house the historical artifacts begin in Lower Town. This places you in a great position to make a loop on foot through the history related stops as well as take in some shopping, eating and drinking throughout. The downside, is if you have issues with doing a fair amount of walking you may want to opt for parking closer to the action at the train station. There’s a lot of up and down terrain and some places that aren’t meant for someone with balance issues to navigate. In fact, I am one of those people and, even with a cane, it took me a long time to get from point A to point B. I really hadn’t taken into consideration the amount of walking I would be doing. However, my other half was very happy about the choice. She logged a little over 12,000 steps that day!

There isn’t enough space on these two pages to give you the highlights of all of the historic buildings, quaint shops, art galleries and eateries that abound in this small place. I hope the photos accompanying these words give you a bit of an idea of what to expect.

Some of the highlights of our SunDay FunDay started on lower High Street. High Street is considered the main drag and is flanked by Shenandoah and Potomac Streets. All three of these streets have points of historical interest intermingled with the retail.

I was ready to sit down and we were both hungry so, at the recommendation of a very fun woman named Linda that we met on the street who works in one of the retail shops, we stopped for a really good lunch at the Coach House Bar & Grill. They have a nice menu, good Bloody Mary’s and both indoor and outdoor seating with entrances from both High and Potomac Streets. The smoke puffing train engine that sits on the bar intrigued my other half!

I chose to remain seated and catch some Sunday NFL action since while she went exploring.

She went in search of a few of her favorites from when we were frequenting HF on a regular basis and was happy to find that the Vintage Lady that sells all things West Virginia is still flourishing. There are so many shops with a plethora of goods including coffee, jewelry, artwork, clothing, candles, home goods, etc. that keeping track of the names wasn’t in the cards this Sunday. Restaurant choices and ice cream shops abound on High and Potomac Streets. The Rabbit Hole restaurant was our go to in the 90’s so we will definitely stop in there on our return.

One of the highlights of her trek was walking the original steps of the Appalachian Trail from High Street up to St. Peter’s Catholic Church at the top of “Church” Street. Read more about it in “On the Cover”.

I didn’t mention much about the outdoor activities but they abound here. I have kayaked the rivers in the past and it was phenomenal. For all information about all things Harpers Ferry log on to http://www.experiencingharpersferry.com.

I hope this piece gives you some incentive to make your own FunDay trek to Harpers Ferry this fall. I suggest that you make in during the week if you can and that you schedule your trip around rush hour traffic.