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Home > Harpers Ferry Explorer

The Harpers Ferry Explorer

Explore the history and beauty of Harpers Ferry through an interactive gallery of historical and contemporary photographs.

Open the Harpers Ferry Explorer »

Click on the above link to open a full-screen pop-up window that will load and display the Harpers Ferry Explorer. The pop-up window automatically detects for the presence and version of your Flash Player, and then loads the program. Note: the program requires Flash Player 10.0 or later.

Explorer Overview

The Harpers Ferry Explorer features a short introduction (which you may skip if you wish) followed by an aerial view of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia and the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.

You may choose to explore nine different location-specific photo galleries, or four galleries that focus on Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, John Brown, and W.E.B. DuBois. These four individuals represent key themes in the Harpers Ferry story:

  • Thomas Jefferson celebrated the natural beauty of Harpers Ferry in his "Notes on the State of Virginia".
  • Meriwether Lewis tapped the Harpers Ferry Armory for weapons and supplies, highlighting the important role the armory played in the evolution of American industry and military technology.
  • John Brown's 1859 raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory was a lightening rod for a divided nation, and hastened the advent of the Civil War.
  • W.E.B DuBois rallied African-Americans against Jim Crow laws and legal segregation when he convened the Second Niagara Conference at Harpers Ferry in 1906.

Explorer Credits

The Harpers Ferry Explorer was developed by David Gilbert, a volunteer serving the Harpers Ferry Historical Association. David is author of the "Walker's Guide to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia". Considerable credit also goes to:

  • Debbie Piscitelli, Executive Director of the Harpers Ferry Historical Association, for encouraging the project and providing it with a home.
  • Webucator instructor Zack Jordan, who taught me Action-script and generously provided technical assistance during the development of this program.
  • Linda Greenburg at HBP Internet for enabling Flash video streaming.
  • Nancy Hatcher, who helped locate many of the photos in this program when she worked at Harpers Ferry NHP.
  • Terry Adams, David Guiney, and Marsha Wassel of the National Park Service, whose photos appear in this program.

ARTWORK CREDITS:

Potomac Water Gap by Richard Schlecht, based on a c.1812 painting by Rembrandt Peale (Commissioned Art Collection, Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service)

Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, Philadelphia, 1800 (White House Historical Association)

Meriwether Lewis by Charles Willson Peale, Philadelphia, c.1807 (Independence National Historical Park)

Harpers Ferry Historical Association

Maryland Historical Society

PHOTO CREDITS:

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)

Historic Photo Collection, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Leib Collection

Library of Congress

National Archives

National Park Service

Smithsonian Institution

VIDEO CREDITS:

Division of Audiovisual Arts, Harpers Ferry Center, National Park Service