Walking Tour of Charles Town

Ms. Edwards and I headed to Charles Town after leaving Harpers Ferry. We wanted to continue the story of John Brown.

Charles Town is located in West Virginia.
1750 - George Washington purchased five hundred and fifty acres of farmland along the Bullskin
1766 - Charles Washington made a name for himself as a signer of the "Westmoreland Resolution"
1786 - Charles Washington laid out Charlestown. Main Street was named Washington for the family and cross streets were named after family members (George, Samuel, Mildred, Charles, and Lawrence)
1786 - created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. It was created from land owned by Charles Washington. (Youngest brother of President George Washington) town originially named Charlestown
1801 - Jefferson County was formed and Charlestown became the county seat. Courthouse, county jail, market house, and offices for the court were constructed.
1912 - town changed its name to Charles Town

Happy Retreat - was the name of Charles' home. It can still be seen today.

John Brown was held prisioner in the county jail in Charles Town. He was tried at in the Jefferson County Courthouse which is pictured below. The courthouse was closed since I visited the town on a Sunday.



Below is a picture of the Old Charles Town Library and Jefferson County Museum.

Below is a picture of the Presbyterian Church. It demonstrates Greek Revivial architecture. It was build in 1851 on land that was donated by John Stephenson. It served as a hospital for both the Confederate and Union Soldiers during the Civil War. It was the only church not damaged in town during the war.

Back to the story of John Brown. He was executed by hanging on December 2, 1859 four blocks from the courthouse. Below is a marker that shows the spot. When he was executed it was an open field. Someone built a house near the spot. They were able to preserve the location where the scaffold was located though. The picture below shows bricks in a circle. That is the spot that John Brown was executed.

Most of the information that I have shared with you came from a brochure called "Walking Tour of Historic Charles Town West Virginia." It was created by Nan Furioso, Wanda Perry, Jim Taylor, and Hugh Voress.