- in and around Jefferson County
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1. Visit Historic Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 2. Visit the historic courthouse in Charles Town where abolitionist John Brown was tried, the post office (former jail) across the street, where Brown was incarcerated, and the property nearby where the gallows were constructed for Brown's hanging. 3. Take a driving tour of Jefferson County 4. Take a walking tour of Charles Town 5. Take a Black History Walking tour of Charles Town 6. Visit the Jefferson County Museum/Charles Town Library 7. Try your hand at the casino at Charles Town Races and Slots 8. Walk across the walk bridge from Harpers Ferry WV into Maryland at the meeting point of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in Harpers Ferry 9. Dine out at any of the fine eating establishments throughout downtown Charles Town, Shepherdstown, Harpers Ferry and Jefferson County 10. Stop by and play at one of the wonderful golf courses in the Eastern Panhandle for a round of golf 11. Check out the Rumsey Monument (where James Rumsey successfully demonstrated a steamboat thirty years before Robert Fulton) along the scenic Potomac River at Shepherdstown 12. Shop in one of the many antique shops throughout the Eastern Panhandle 13. Stop by the CVB and Visitors Center to find all the Civil War locations within easy driving distance from Jefferson County 14.Take walking tour of downtown Martinsburg--pick up walking tour brochure from Berkeley County Historical Society 15. Walk along the banks of the Shenandoah River and view the remains of the industrial complex at Virginius Island at Harpers Ferry 16. Have a picnic at the lovely Sam Michaels Park in Shenandoah Junction, Jefferson County 17. Hike to Jefferson Rock at Harpers Ferry where Thomas Jefferson visited in 1783--and see the view that Jefferson declared "was worth a voyage across the Atlantic---to survey these monuments of war between rivers and mountains which must have shaken the earth itself to its center". 18. Climb to the top of Maryland Heights for a spectacular view of Harpers Ferry 19. Drive to the Hilltop House Hotel for a spectacular view of the Harpers Ferry area. 20. Check out the Adam Stephens monument on South Queen Street. Stephens was the founder of Martinsburg 21. Visit Storer College in Harpers Ferry. This was the site of a Niagara Movement meeting in 1906 which eventually led to the formation of the NAACP 22. Stay at one of the many fine Bed and Breakfasts throughout the Eastern Panhandle. 23. Visit the C & O Canal--great hiking and biking trail--accessible across the Potomac River at Shepherdstown and Falling Waters 24. Take a driving tour of the Washington Heritage Trail 25. Rent a motorcycle and take a trip throughout the Panhandle from Mt. Thunder Motorcycle Rental and Tours. 26. Visit the very eclectic O'Hurley's General Store in nearby Shepherdstown 27. Drive through historic Middleway in Jefferson County 28. Take a train ride on the Amtrak train from Harpers Ferry east to Washington DC or west to points between Martinsburg and Chicago 29. Walk the trails at the Yankauer Nature Preserve 30. Walk the walking trails at Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management area 31. Visit the B & O Train Station in downtown Martinsburg--property oversees the scenic 1866 B & O Roundhouse. This is the site of the 1849 National Hotel (still standing), the famous Stonewall Jackson burning of the B & O Railroad in 1861, and the 1877 National Railroad Strike 32. Tour the Belle Boyd House, home of the famous Civil War spy 33. Visit historic Antietam Battlefield in nearby Sharpsburg, MD, scene of the bloodiest single battle in the Civil War. On Sept. 17, 1862 casualties at this battle numbered 23,110 on both sides 34. Photograph the Morgan Cabin in Bunker Hill, home of the first white settler in West Virginia, Morgan Morgan 35. Search genealogy at the Berkeley County Historical Society 36. Take home some sparkling clear water at the famous historical Berkeley Springs State Park 37. Visit the scenic Cacapon State Park in southern Morgan County 38. Check out the interesting architecture in downtown Martinsburg 39. Take a drive from Martinsburg--Gateway to the Shenandoah Valley-- southward on I-81 through the very scenic Shenandoah Valley 40. Stop by any of the three WV Visitors Centers (I-81 northbound, I-81 southbound and on Rt. 340 at Harpers Ferry) 41. Stop at the top of the mountain just west of Gerrardstown on Rt. 51 to get a great view of the entire valley below 42. Enjoy fishing at the lake at Sleepy Creek Wildlife area or on the rivers 43. Stop by the Pettigrew Monument on Rt. 11 south of Bunker Hill. This monument signifies the Boyd House, the place where General James Johnson Pettigrew, CSA, who led the Confederate army in Pickett's Charge in Gettysburg several days before died from a mortal wounding at Falling Waters. 44. Photograph the historic Snodgrass Tavern in Hedgesville where, in 1784, George Washington visited. 45. Travel to the stone arch Van Metre Ford Bridge near Stonebridge Golf Course. Built in 1832, it is the oldest bridge still in use in West Virginia. 46. Visit the site of George Washington's bathtub at America's first spa, in Berkeley Springs 47. Visit the Convention and Visitors Bureau offices in the oldest brick house in Martinsburg (1803). The house is now the Boarman Arts Center 48. Visit the Kennedy Farm on Samples Mill Road in Maryland. This farmhouse is where the plot by John Brown and his band of abolitionist was developed. 49. Check along Rt. 11 near Falling Waters for the monument depicting an early Civil War battle involving Thomas J. Jackson (later to become known as Stonewall) and Major General Robert Patterson on July 2, 1861 50. Visit the civil war fortifications along the banks of the Potomac River at Williamsport, MD. This area was the ford used by the CSA troops and wagon train returning with the wounded from Gettysburg (July 13-14, 1863) and was the site of the wounding of General James Pettigrew who died several days later. |
