Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Abolitionist John Brown Boards in Chambersburg

Franklin

— Civil War Trails —

Abolitionist John Brown Boards in Chambersburg Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, April 25, 2009

1. Abolitionist John Brown Boards in Chambersburg Marker

Inscription.
Preparing for the raid on Harpers Ferry arsenal, John Brown came to Chambersburg in the summer of 1859 wearing a beard as a disguise and using the alias of Isaac Smith. He took up residence at Mary Ritner’s boarding house on East King Street, professing to be a developer of iron mines in Maryland and Virginia.

Mining implements consigned to Smith and Sons soon arrived at warehouses in town. They were actually firearms, ammunition, and pikes with which Brown wished to arm the many Blacks who he thought would flock to his cause. Brown would secretly meet with Frederick Douglass, notable former slave and abolitionist, in a quarry west of town. Leading up to and after the raid, members of Brown’s militia passed through Greencastle, Mont Alto, and Mercersburg. Seven of Brown’s men eluded capture after the raid. One of them, Albert Hazlett, managed to hitch a buggy ride with a farmer named Hiram Wertz, who lived in Quincy. Leaving Wertz before he reached Chambersburg, Hazlett was later captured at Carlisle. Wertz never revealed his true mission, conductor on the Underground Railroad through his farm at Quincy.

Erected 2009

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Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1859.

Location. 39° 56.238′ N, 77° 39.664′ W. Marker is in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in Franklin County. It is at the intersection of South Main Street (U.S. 11) and Lincoln Way (U.S. 30), on the right when traveling north on South Main Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chambersburg PA 17201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

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 Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 24, 2024

2. Abolitionist John Brown Boards in Chambersburg Marker

walking distance of this marker: The Burning of Chambersburg (here, next to this marker); Chambersburg Founded A.D. 1764 (a few steps from this marker); Finding Your Way (a few steps from this marker); War Between the States (within shouting distance of this marker); Union Soldiers of Franklin County (within shouting distance of this marker); French & Indian War – Revolutionary War – War of 1812 (within shouting distance of this marker); Mexican War – Spanish American War – World War (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S.S. Maine Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chambersburg.

More about this marker. The marker displays a Historic photograph of the John Brown House, Courtesy of the Franklin County Historical Society. Also dispalyed is a portrait of
John Brown, Courtesy of the National Archives.

Also see . . . John Brown at FindAGrave.com. (Submitted on July 19, 2011, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2010

3. Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Marker

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, April 25, 2009

4. Abolitionist John Brown Boards in Chambersburg Marker

John Brown's Raid Interpretive Panel in the nearby Heritage Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, April 25, 2009

5. John Brown's Raid Interpretive Panel in the nearby Heritage Center

Slavery and Freedom Interpretive Panel in the nearby Heritage Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Robert H. Moore, II, April 25, 2009

6. Slavery and Freedom Interpretive Panel in the nearby Heritage Center

Credits. This page was last revised on March 1, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 2, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,904 times since then and 51 times this year. Last updated on July 10, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on May 2, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. 2. submitted on March 1, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on September 1, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 4. submitted on May 2, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. 5, 6. submitted on May 4, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.