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

Burned, Flooded, and Leveled

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

Burned, Flooded, and Leveled Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 29, 2019

1. Burned, Flooded, and Leveled Marker

Inscription. The stone and brick walls in front of you show the outline of the Small Arsenal. The actual foundation of this former weapons storehouse lies below ground. In 1959 National Park Service archaeologists first excavated the foundation—100 years after John Brown's raid. The 1959 excavation report describes the intensity of the fire that destroyed the building in 1861. The fire "baked red" the top layer of clay and left behind "twisted and partly melted muskets and parts, some of them fused into each other." The report suggests that the building's slate roof, brick walls and drafts from the cellar windows created a "furnace effect" leaving behind only a shell of the building. Floods swept through the building shell twice before federal troops leveled it. In 2009 National Park Service specialists constructed this partial representation of the small arsenal based on evidence from archaeological excavations.

[Caption:]
The Foundation and Excavation Plan shows the Small Arsenal areas excavated in 1959. The grey outline shows the footprint of a 1870 building built over the remains of the small arsenal.

Erected by National

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Anthropology & Archaeology • Architecture • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1959.

Location. 39° 19.367′ N, 77° 43.804′ W. Marker is in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. It is at the intersection of Shenandoah River Drive (Alternate U.S. 340) and High Street (Alternate U.S. 340), on the right when traveling east on Shenandoah River Drive. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 780 Shenandoah River Drive, Harpers Ferry WV 25425, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in the Eastern Panhandle.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), December 29, 2019

2. Burned, Flooded, and Leveled Marker

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Arsenal Square (a few steps from this marker); High Street in 1886 (a few steps from this marker); "for the deposit of arms" (a few steps from this marker); Large Arsenal Foundation (within shouting distance of this marker); Large Arsenal (within shouting distance of this marker); John Brown (within shouting distance of this marker); Trail to Upper Harpers Ferry (within shouting distance of this marker); "The War That Ended Slavery" (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harpers Ferry.

Additional keywords. John Brown's Raid

Credits. This page was last revised on December 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 346 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 29, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.