West Virginia / Virginia

Historical marker location:

Charles Town, West Virginia

( Marker is on Lord Fairfax Parkway (U.S. 340), on the right when traveling south.)

Marker installed: 1966

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is the site of John Brown's raid in 1859, which is considered a major event leading up to the Civil War. Brown and his supporters attempted to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in an effort to arm slaves and start a rebellion against slaveholders.