Old Charles Town Historic District

Charles Washington laid out and established Charles Town in 1786/7 on land he inherited from his older brother, Lawrence Washington. He divided 80 acres into plots and laid out the road network with streets named after his family. He also designated the town center at the intersection of George and Washington Streets. While Washington was responsible for the establishment of Charles Town, there was already a crossroads here prior to 1786 with a mill on Evitts Run and a few inns and buildings on West and Washington Streets. Thus the Old Charles Town Historic District includes some buildings older than Charles Washington’s establishment of Charles Town. Water Street is the oldest street in Charles Town, followed by West and Washington Streets, and some of the oldest buildings are found there.

While Charles Town is most famous for the trial of John Brown, events during the Civil War, and the beginning of the rural mail delivery, the old Charles Town district has a complex social history, particularly with the changes in the African American community. The District was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural history, and its significance in education, African American history, early settlement history, military history (especially the Civil War), religious history (particularly the historic churches in town), and social history. The National Register of Historic Places nomination linked below has a fuller account of this rich history.      

“National Register of Historic Places Registration Form—Old Charles Town Historic District.” Accessed February 8, 2021. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/jefferson/00001308.pdf.