Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

Camp Hill

Discover Harpers Ferry

Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 21, 2021

1. Camp Hill Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

You are in the Camp Hill area of Harpers Ferry. Explore Camp Hill's history with exhibits in front of the Morrell, Brackett, and Lockwood houses and Mather Training Center. Side trails in Harper Cemetery and in front of Mather Training Center connect to the world-famous Appalachian Trail (AT).

Early settlement
1700s
Town founder Robert Harper ran a ferry business and a gristmill in the Lower Town area. Harper and other notables are buried in Harper Cemetery at the end of Fillmore Street. The Camp Hill area takes its name from an encampment of US Army soldiers here in the late 1700s.

Armory
1848-1861
The hilltop position of the armory paymaster's house (above) "made a statement about the presence and power of the paymaster and the armory." A stroll along Fillmore Street takes you by three of the original four armory mansions on Camp Hill which have been preserved by the National Park Service.

Civil War
1861-1865
The armory and its Camp Hill housing were abandoned at the war's outbreak. Camp Hill served as an encampment for both Union and Confederate

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

troops. The buildings on this street served as hospitals, prisons, bivouacs, or quarters.

Storer College
1867-1955
An oasis of learning and freedom in the segregated south, Storer College was "open to all regardless of race or gender." Here in 1906 the civil rights leaders of the Niagara Movement — precursor to the NAACP — used the campus for their first conference in the United States.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.

Location. 39° 19.485′ N, 77° 44.461′ W. Marker is in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. Marker is at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Storer College Place, on the left when traveling east on Fillmore Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 770 Fillmore Street, Harpers Ferry WV 25425, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Black Americans (within shouting distance of this marker); Storer College Veterans Memorial Gate (within shouting distance of this marker); Virginia Lodge No. 1 (within shouting

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., May 3, 2017

2. Camp Hill Marker

Looking north from Fillmore Street

distance of this marker); Foundations of Freedom (within shouting distance of this marker); The Niagara Movement (within shouting distance of this marker); A Land Divided (within shouting distance of this marker); The Second Meeting of the Niagara Movement (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); That was the happiest time of my life. (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harpers Ferry.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 22, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 455 times since then and 105 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 21, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on May 22, 2017, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.