Triple Brick Building – 311-313 East John Street

Triple Brick Building – 311-313 East John Street. Washington Heritage Trail. Built in the mid-1870s by Philip Showers, who owned the adjacent stone house (the Adam Stephen House) at that time, the Triple Brick Building was listed in early tax records as the "Tribble (Triple) House" or "the brick house divided into three dwellings." Because Martinsburg was an important railroad center during the post Civil War-period, and due to the location's close proximity to the railroad, the apartments in the structure were rented out to railroad workers and their families. The structure is one of the earliest examples of apartment building housing in Martinsburg. The house was donated to the city of Martinsburg by William Evers in 1959, and it was remodeled by the General Adam Stephen Memorial Association during the 1970s, opening as a town museum in 1981. The Triple Brick Building now contains a museum of artifacts and memorabilia of life in old Martinsburg, including various items related to the industrial, social, and cultural history of the town from the 1700s to the mid-1900s. Late-18th century china, glassware and pottery shards which were uncovered during archaeological excavations on the Adam Stephen House property are also on display.