Harpers Ferry Historic District

Infobox_nrhp | name =Harpers Ferry Historic District
nrhp_type = hd

---

|High Street, Harpers Ferry
caption =
location= Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 19
lat_seconds = 35
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 44
long_seconds = 29
long_direction = W
locmapin = West Virginia
area =
built =1800
architect= Multiple
architecture= Late Victorian
added = October 15, 1979cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Local
refnum=79002584The Harpers Ferry Historic District comprises about one hundred historic structures in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The historic district includes the portions of the central town not included in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, including large numbers of early 19th century houses built by the United States Government for the Harpers Ferry Armory. Significant buildings and sites include the site of the Armory, the U.S Armory Potomac Canal, the Harpers Ferry Train Station, and Shenandoah Street, Potomac Street, and High or Washington Street. The National Historic Park essentially comprises the lower, flood-prone areas of the town, while the Historic District comprises the upper town.

The historic district preserves what is essentially an intact 19th century town that occupied a pivotal role in the American Civil War, and later as a transportation center. In the late 19th century a number of Victorian houses were built on the high ground. In particular, the Hilltop House Hotel received guests who included Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell and Woodrow Wilson. citation|title=PDFlink| [http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/jefferson/79002584.pdf National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Harpers Ferry Historic District] |2.35 MB|date=November 1, 1978 |author=Harpers Ferry Planning Commission|publisher=National Park Service]

Due to repeated flooding in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town entered a decline that resulted in the inadvertent preservation of much of the original town fabric. Two National Register properties adjoin the Harpers Ferry Historic District - the B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing and St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.

References