Before today, essentially all I knew about Harpers Ferry was that it held the nation's armory from near the beginning and that it was the site of John Brown's failed pre-Civil War raid. A big reason for George Washington choosing it for an armory in 1794 was its location at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Today I learned that in addition to hosting the raid that helped start the war, the town saw lots of activity during the war itself. It was a very strategic location that was virtually indefensible. The five plaques in the picture represent just a few of the fourteen time the town changed hands between 1861 and 1865. By luck, I was standing at The Point overlooking the confluence of the rivers when a train emerged from the tunnel in Maryland and crossed over the Potomac.

ADDENDUM: Jan 14, 2024 - I was recently given an opportunity to prove just how little I knew about Harpers Point when a friend asked if the ghost sign was still there. I had no idea what he was talking about. He explained that a large advertisement had once been painted on the rock above the train tunnel and it frequently appeared in photos. Even though ghost signs are something I tend to notice, we both knew that the fact that I'd not noticed one in Harpers Ferry was hardly reliable evidence of its absence. Curiosity piqued, I found images and info at the park website. Armed with knowledge of just what to look for, I went back through all of my photos from the day and, although it didn't exactly jump out at me, there it was and a little zooming and squinting helped see it. I now know that the answer to the question is, "Yes, but just barely."

On the way back from my brief time in Maryland, I spotted some daring kayakers -- and a daring photographer -- below the bridge. I also spotted a few hundred padlocks which, in addition to cluttering up the bridge, represent an equal number of keys insensitively tossed into the Potomac River.

The big brick building across the street now houses the John Brown Museum. Among the many interesting displays inside is one containing a sword believed to have been carried by one of Brown's followers during the Pottawatomie Massacre in Kansas. I visited John Brown Memorial Park, nearer the site of the massacre, while traveling the Jefferson Highway in 2022.