Institution

Achilles Dixon was one
of 540 free Blacks in Jefferson County in 1850. He and his wife, Ellen Dixon,
owned a house and a Blacksmith shop on the corner of Samuel and Liberty Streets
in Charles Town.&nbsp;In 1865, the Freedmen's Bureau, working with the American
Missionary Association, established schools in Jefferson County for the newly
freed slaves. The first Black school in Charles Town was at the residence of
Achilles Dixon, located on the corner of Liberty and Samuel Streets. Enis
Wilson, a student from Storer College, became the first Black teacher at the
Liberty Street School. Other teachers at the Liberty Street School
included&nbsp;Annie Dudley and&nbsp;E. H. Oliver.&nbsp;The home served as a school until the county began its
own system for providing public education for Black students and built a brick
schoolhouse on Harewood Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue) sometime
between 1867 and 1874. 
 
Charles Town housed the first publicly-funded
African American high school&nbsp;in West Virginia, the Page-Jackson High School. This was the second
African American school in Charles Town, following the first&nbsp;school located in the
Achilles Dixon home.&nbsp;

Plaque commemorating the first school at the Dixon Home. Courtesy of the JCBHPS

Undated Black and white photo of the Achilles Dixon School. Courtesy of the JCBHPS

late 1800s photo of Philip Jackson (one of the namesakes of Page-Jackson HS) with his students at the Harewood school after leaving its original location in the Dixon home. 

The Harewood brick school as it stands today on MLK Jr. Ave. 

Jefferson County WV Black History Preservation Society. 

Website

More Info

Established in 1865 by the Freedmens' Bureau, the first African American school in Charles Town was located in the Achilles Dixon home. The school located in the Dixon home was named the Liberty Street School, and employed a local Storer College graduate to teach the students. In 1867, Jefferson County began its own system of Black education, and by 1874 constructed a brick school house on Harewood Road, now Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. The students were moved from the Achilles Dixon home to the newly constructed Page-Jackson High School.

First Black School in Charles Town/Achilles Dixon Home

This walking tour explores historic Charles Town, West Virginia and includes numerous historic homes and buildings as well as several museums. 

The execution of John Brown and his men occurred on the property of what is now the Gibson-Todd House. John Brown, a staunch abolitionist, along with 18 men raided Harpers Ferry, VA on October 18, 1859 with the plan to seize the weapons and ammunition there, distribute them to slaves, and create a mass slave rebellion to take down the institution by force. His plan ultimately failed and Brown with several of his surviving men were arrested and placed on trial in Charles Town. Brown and six of his men were sentenced to death by hanging for treason and murder. In 1859, Academy Street was the southern boundary of Charles Town and the land south was open field. For security reasons, largely the need to use militia to secure the site and prevent any attempted rescue of Brown, the field owned by Rebecca Hunter was chosen as the execution site. There were three separate executions here connected to the Brown Raid. John Brown was hanged first on December 2, 1859. Four of the raiders—John E. Cook, Edwin Coppic, Shields Green, and John Copeland—were executed on December 16, 1859. The two final Brown raiders—Aaron Stevens and Albert Hazlett—were hanged here on March 16, 1860. The Gibson-Todd House was built for John Thomas Gibson (1825-1904). Gibson served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1851-1853 and again in 1859-1861, participating in the session that made the decision for Virginia to secede from the Union prior to the Civil War. In 1859, Gibson commanded the county’s unit of the Virginia militia, known as the “Jefferson Guards of Charles Town,” and his men were the first troops to respond to John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry. Gibson also commanded the 800 militia posted at John Brown’s execution in December 1859 to secure the scaffold and prevent any attempts to free Brown before he was executed. For his actions Gibson was given an original copy of Brown’s “Chatham Constitution” and the table on which Brown’s death warrant was signed. Gibson fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and was paroled at Appomattox Courthouse with General Robert E. Lee’s army. After the Civil War Gibson was Mayor of Charles Town and on the Jefferson County Commission. He constructed this house in 1891 on the site of John Brown’s execution. The house is a 2.5 story brick Victorian Era home with 18 rooms and a three-story tower in the Norman style. It follows “eclectic design principles” popular in the period and combines Norman, Romanesque, and Queen Anne architectural and design elements. The architect who designed the Gibson House, Thomas A. Mullett, also designed the Charles Town Opera House and Charles Town Jail. John T. Gibson lived in the house until he died in 1904 and the house remained in the family for many more years. His son, Braxton D. Gibson, served in the West Virginia Legislature from 1889-1891. His daughter Anne married William Bainbridge Packette, a great-great nephew of George Washington. Anne and William Packette’s only child was Frances Packette who married Augustine J. Todd in 1925. She inherited the house (thus the Gibson-Todd name) and owned it until the 1980s. In 1982, Frances Packette Todd deeded the house to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Gibson-Todd was sold into private hands in 2015. On the property, near the foundation of the house, is a monument to the execution site of John Brown. This was erected by John T. Gibson sometime after 1873. The stone of the marker is from the original Jefferson County Jail where Brown was held during his trial. The Jail was located across from the Jefferson County Court House (where the U.S. Post Office is now) and it was heavily damaged during the Civil War. A second jail was built on the same site in 1873, so it is likely that this is when Gibson acquired the stone to erect this monument. The new jail on George Street was constructed in 1919 and the Post Office building was built in 1922, both occurring after Gibson’s 1904 death.

Built in 1891, the Gibson-Todd house was designed by the architect Thomas A. Mullet. While the building has gotten attention over the years, the site is better known for being the place where John Brown was hanged following his trial. John Thomas Gibson was the first occupant of the house after it was completed. His granddaughter, Frances Prakette, married Augustine J. Todd and donated the house to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The house is now privately owned. 

The Gibson-Todd House/Site of John Brown's Execution

Happy Retreat, also interchangeably referred to as Mordington or the Charles Washington House, was the home of Charles Washington, youngest brother of former president George Washington. The property was originally part of Lawrence Washington's land, but it was split between his siblings following his death in 1752. Charles and his family did not move in until 1780, by which time he had arranged for Happy Retreat to be constructed. While he lived there, he set aside eighty acres of land for use in founding Charles Town in 1786. In Charles' final months, he ceded control of his lands to his son, Samuel. Following Charles' death in 1799, Happy Retreat, as well as the one hundred acres of land around it, was sold to his son-in-law, Thomas Hammond. It would stay in the Hammond family until 1837, where it was sold to Judge Isaac Douglass. Of the estate's owners, Douglass was the one that did the most renovations to it. Under Charles and his immediate family, the mansion consisted of the first story of the east and west wings, plus the kitchen. Douglass added on a second story to each wing, as well as a 2 1/2 story central building to connect them. He also renamed the mansion "Mordington," after his ancestral estate in Scotland. After Douglass, the home passed through multiple hands, until it was purchased in the 1960s by Mr. and Mrs. William Gavin. As of 2014, the Gavins were looking to sell the estate. The Friends of Happy Retreat (FOHR), a non-profit historical conservation society, and the city of Charles Town are raising the money to purchase it.

Happy Retreat, also known as Mordington, was the home of Charles Washington, youngest brother of George Washington. Though he inherited the property in 1752, he did not construct the mansion and move in with his family until 1780. Following Charles's death in 1799, the house was sold to his son-in-law, Thomas Hammond. The house stayed in the Hammond family until 1837, after which it passed through several hands until it was purchased in the 1960s by Mr. and Mrs. William Gavin.

Happy Retreat / Mordington (Charles Washington House)

<div>In 1866, African Americans received the first publicly funded colored school in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Most of the earliest colored schools were founded on the eastern side of West Virginia. At the turn of the century, more and more African Americans were looking for outlets to educate their children beyond grades 1-8 in Jefferson County. Prior to 1938, the only African American “high school,” was the high school program offered through Storer College in Harpers Ferry, WV. Storer College was a historically Black college and it closed in 1955 and then&nbsp;functioned as a grade school for many years.&nbsp;</div><div> The Board of Education urged the PTA and said&nbsp;if they could find somewhere to house the new high school and find teachers willing enough to teach there, then they could open the school. Page Jackson High School opened in the 1940s. It was given the namesake for Littleton L. Page and Phillip Jackson. Page was born into slavery but escaped to the north where he took the name Littleton L. Page after an officer that he served under during the Civil War. Philip Jackson was the principal of the colored school on Harewood Avenue now Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue from 1887-1937. Donald C. Wingo was the first principal of Page Jackson High School. Wingo was an influential leader because he made changes to Eagle Avenue Elementary School, a&nbsp;colored elementary school, that made them a highly rated elementary school.&nbsp; </div><div> </div><div>	Page Jackson High School originally occupied a building with Eagle Avenue Elementary School. After the growing attendance of African American students attending the high school and a need for more units in the high school, a separate school was later built for the students. The Page Jackson High School was built in 1951 and it operated until 1965. Page Jackson High School was the first high school to have a quasi-military unit. During this time period, the country was involved in World War II, and a lot of America's youth fought in the war. The School housed many of Jefferson County's bright African American students whom many went on to be the first high school or college graduates in their families. </div><div>	Page Jackson is believed to be one of the last Black high schools in the state of West Virginia. &nbsp;The building used for Page Jackson High School is used for the board of education for Jefferson County today. The Jefferson County Board of Education has a room in their building designated as “The Page-Jackson &nbsp;Room,” and the exhibit is open to the public during the regular office hours of the School Board. Page Jackson High School stood for something symbolic for African Americans during that time period in Jefferson County. It was a stepping stone for them to become successful during a time period where it was frowned upon to educate African Americans.&nbsp;</div>

In 1866, Page Jackson High School became the first publicly funded school for African Americans students in Jefferson County. The first Jefferson County Branch President of the NAACP was Professor E. M. Dandridge, science teacher at Page Jackson High School and later the school principal. Page Jackson High School was a symbolic structure for African Americans during that time period in Jefferson County by signifying a stepping stone for becoming successful during a time period where it was frowned upon to educate African Americans. Today, the Page Jackson High School building is home to the Jefferson County Board of Education.

Page Jackson High School

<div>Fishermen's Hall contributed to the economic growth of African Americans during that time period. The building functioned as an African American community center. Organizations like The Star Lodge Masons, John Brown Elks, Knights of Pythias, American Legion Post #63, church services all met in Fishermen's Hall. Organizations like the Star Lodge Masons were composed of free African American men and functioned as a fraternal organization. Many showmen and comics like Silas Green who were widely popular at that time in the African American world came to Fishermen's Hall.&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>	 Many elders of the Charles Town community have stated that it was very hard to integrate in a region that had originally wanted to stay with the Jim Crow south of Virginia, but was included in West Virginia formed in in 1863. A lot of the organizations that were housed in the Galilean Temple met for the purpose of the advancement of colored people. During the twentieth century, many African Americans did not voice their opinions about segregation in public because of the fear of harm to their families or themselves. Jefferson County was not a place that was known for its segregationists ways like Birmingham, instead people just knew their social roles, and they knew not to cross racial boundaries. The Galilean Temple functioned as a safe haven for the African American community of Jefferson County.&nbsp; </div><div>	</div><div>	Today, the building is known as Fishermen's Hall and it has been restored by the African American Community Association of Jefferson County. Senator Robert C. Byrd contributed to the restoration of Fishermen's Hall in 2009. &nbsp; The building was created in the center of the African American Community of Charles Town by Dogtown and Big-End. Many African Americans still live by Fishermen's Hall in the present day. Fishermen's Hall is centrally located in the Charles Town African American community.</div>

With African Americans no longer enslaved in the turn of the century, many African Americans looked for organizations or places where they could prosper. Many of them joined churches and organizations where they could loudly express their thoughts and bond with their peers. The Galilean Temple was built in Charles Town on June 6, 1885. The Galilean Temple, now known as Fishermen's Hall, was built for African Americans; specifically the local tabernacle of the Grand United Order of the Galilean Fishermen. The Galilean Temple also encouraged Black enterprise in Jefferson County.

Fishermen's Hall (Galilean Temple)

From Zion Episcopal Church of Charles Town, WV. Partner to St. Philips.&nbsp; "When the first West Virginia legislature met in 1863, it agreed to educate ‘‘free colored children,’’ but the proposition was left unfunded. With the condition that white and Black children should not be taught in the same schools, West Virginia’s second constitution in 1872 affirmed the state’s commitment to the education of African-American children. Although most school boards cooperated, court action sometimes had to be undertaken or threatened to force some to provide the needed support for Black education. Among the major difficulties was the dearth of teachers. In the beginning, whites served, as did Black teachers from neighboring states, particularly Ohio. The first formal effort to train Black teachers in West Virginia came at Storer College in Harpers Ferry. The college was begun in 1865 by the Freewill Baptist Church. In 1881 the state agreed to contract with Storer to train African-American teachers. Until the state’s Black land grant college, West Virginia Colored Institute (now West Virginia State University), was founded in 1891, Storer College was the only institution in the state preparing Blacks for the teaching profession. Later, Bluefield Colored Institute (now Bluefield State College), established in 1895, joined the other two in this mission. These institutions also provided secondary education In addition to Black public education, several private educational efforts were attempted. Storer College continued in Harpers Ferry until 1956;&nbsp;St. Phillips Academy was operated for a time by St. Phillips Episcopal Church in Charles Town; the Baptist State Association operated a school at Hilltop in Fayette County; and Catholics operated St. Peter Claver in Huntington. In 1919 the state created the position of state supervisor of Negro schools and appointed a Negro Board of Education. In 1933 assistant superintendents of Negro education were appointed in counties having 50 or more Black teachers. In addition to the push for more voice in the operation of their schools, Blacks also struggled for adequate buildings and materials, for equal salaries for teachers, and for a full nine-month school year." Following the state's creation in 1863, the newly established state of&nbsp;West&nbsp;Virginia allowed for 'colored places of worship.'&nbsp;The original St. Philip's&nbsp;congregation first&nbsp;met during the late-1860s to formally organize and build a local Episcopalian church to serve the Charles Town&nbsp;area. By 1876, the congregation secured $200 for the purpose of constructing a house of worship; and in&nbsp;1887, the church was finally completed. Bushrod Washington was the church's first superintendent and led the first service while the church was being constructed by holding the service in the second floor of the town hall.&nbsp; St. Philip's offered three different schools that served the congregation and community:&nbsp;St. Philip's Parochial Industrial School, St. Philip’s Academy, and&nbsp;St. Philip’s Sewing School.&nbsp;Young women were trained in the sewing school started by Mrs. William Craighill of Zion Episcopal Church in 1875. In 1900, St. Philip’s Parochial and Industrial School started in the Parish Hall under the leadership of St. Philip’s Church minister and principal Rev. John Deaver, and teachers Mrs. Sarah D. Tolbert and Mrs. J. N. Deaver. The church newsletter was printed by the school. The St. Philip’s Day School, or Academy as it was sometimes called, organized during the 1920s and 1930s by Rev. Joseph H. Hudson. Teachers Miss Nethersole Ross and Miss Marion Ridgley taught such subjects as&nbsp;reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, and printing. Weekly tuition fees of $.25 to $.45 financed the school. Unfortunately, the school struggled during the Great Depression&nbsp;and closed as a result. St. Philip’s also served as an emergency hospital for African Americans during the 1918 Influenza epidemic, during which hundreds of Blacks and whites died from the highly contagious virus disease.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church congregation first organized during the late-1860s, seeking to construct an Episcopal church for the Charles Town community. By 1887, the church was completed. Shortly thereafter, St. Philip's provided three different schools that served the congregation and community: St. Philip's Parochial Industrial School, St. Philip’s Academy, and St. Philip’s Sewing School. Unfortunately, the school struggled during the Great Depression and closed as a result. St. Philip’s also served as an emergency hospital for African Americans during the 1918 Influenza epidemic, during which hundreds of Blacks and whites died from the highly contagious virus disease.

St. Philip's Episcopal Church

The Star Lodge Number 1 was chartered in March 1877, becoming the first Prince Hall lodge in West Virginia. Prince Hall was well known as the father of Black Freemasonry in America. After Hall and fourteen other Black men were not allowed entrance into a white Masonic Lodge in Massachusetts, he founded the first Black Masonic Lodge in Boston in 1787. The new African American Masonic Lodge became known as the African Grand Lodge of North America. Hall began the what became known as the Prince Hall Freemasonry Movement, which has led to 4,500 lodges all over the world today. Star Lodge #1 helped organize two more lodges in Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, both chartered in 1881. In 1885, Star Lodge #1 along with the Queen of the Valley Lodge #1558, Grand United Order of the Odd Fellows, purchased this property. The property which housed Charles Town's Prince Hall is also known as the Old Stone House and the Locke House. The land was purchased in 1791 by John Locke from Charles Washington. Since its' construction in 1795 by John Locke, the house has served as a place of entertainment, a home, and a print shop.  The Star Lodge (as well as the Fisherman’s Hall) was also used after WWI to hold meetings of the American Legion Post 63. Post 63 was originally organized in 1919 in Martinsburg, but after their charter was cancelled in 1925 it reformed in Charles Town in 1929. This was a segregated American Legion post for support Black WWI veterans. The post was named the Green-Copeland Post 63; Shields Green and John A. Copeland, Jr. were two of the African American men who participated in John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry and were tried and executed in Charles Town.  The Odd Fellows sold their share of the building to the Star Lodge Number 1, Queen of the Valley Lodge Number 1558, in 1927. The Masonic Lodge continues to operate in the building and it is used for the African American Culture and Heritage Festival.

The Star Lodge #1 / Old Stone House is one of the oldest buildings in Charles Town, being constructed during the in 1790s by John Locke. Purchased in 1927 by the Star Lodge Number 1, Queen of the Valley Lodge Number 1558, the Old Stone House became one of the oldest African American Freemason Lodges in the country. The Star Lodge Number 1 was eventually purchased by two African American organizations and is currently used for Charles Town's African-American Culture and Heritage Festival. 

Star Lodge #1 / Old Stone House

The Bank of Charles Town is the oldest business in continuous operation in Charles Town. Since incorporation in 1871, it has operated under the same name. 

Bank of Charles Town 

New Central Restaurant, originally Central Restaurant, was located on the first floor of Charles Washington Hall in Charles Town. Nicholas Carson, mayor of Charles Town from 1948 to 1968, bought the restaurant in 1933 and operated it for 52 years. This white-owned restaurant was segregated for many years. African Americans were not allowed to eat in the restaurant and Black cooks had to enter the building through a back door.

New Central Restaurant 

The Jefferson County Jail was constructed in 1806. After John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, John Brown and his raiders were taken to the Charles Town jail. It sat diagonally across from the courthouse, where the post office now sits. Brown was beaten by Lt. Israel Green during his capture and requested a delay for his trial due to injury, which was not granted. He received medical attention while in jail and was carried to court on a stretcher. He refused rescue attempts and spent his time furthering the cause of abolition through letter-writing and interviews with journalists. While incarcerated he also developed a friendship with his jailer, John Avis. During the Civil War the jail was destroyed and rebuilt on the same site in 1873. A new jail was constructed in 1919, one block north on George Street, and after the jail moved this lot was purchased by the United States Post Office. The current Post Office building was constructed in 1922. The Post Office building is listed as part of the Downtown Charles Town Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though it was torn down in 1919, the old Charles Town jail was where John Brown was held before his hanging, sitting diagonally across from the courthouse. John Brown was taken by Robert E. Lee and his men on October 17, 1859 and transported to the jail while awaiting trial. He remained there until his hanging on December 2, 1859. In it's spot now stands the Charles Town post office.

Old Charles Town Jail Site (Charles Town Post Office)

Jefferson County was created from portions of Berkeley County by the Virginia legislature in 1801. Charles Town, named after George Washington’s brother Charles, was designated as the county seat. Charles, who had died in 1799, stipulated in his will that a portion of his property would be donated for use as the town square. A modest two-story courthouse was soon constructed on the site in either 1803 or 1808. The demands of the new county soon outgrew the small building, and in 1836 a new courthouse was constructed on the same site. The brick structure was designed in the Georgian Colonial style and was modeled off a Greek Doric temple. This same building remains in use as the seat of county government today, although it has been renovated and expanded over the years.The Jefferson County Courthouse became permanently embedded in American history when it hosted the trial of John Brown in 1859. On October 16, Brown and a group of followers attempted to seize the federal arsenal in nearby Harpers Ferry and instigate a slave insurrection. The raid, which received nationwide attention, ultimately failed and Brown was brought to Charles Town for trial. Local district attorney Andrew Hunter served as the prosecutor. The trial only lasted five days from October 26 to October 31; Brown was swiftly pronounced guilty and sentenced to execution. After his conviction Brown gave a speech declaring that the teachings of the Bible legitimated his actions. He was hanged a few blocks away on December 2, 1859. Today a marker stands in front of the courthouse acknowledging it as the site of John Brown’s trial.Charles Town changed hands multiple times during the Civil War, and the courthouse suffered as a result. On October 13, 1863 a battle between surrounding Confederate troops and Union troops barricaded inside left the building badly damaged. For the rest of the war it was used as a stable. Meanwhile the county seat was transferred from Charles Town to Shepherdstown under the new West Virginia government. The seat was finally returned to Charles Town in 1872, and the courthouse building was restored and renovated. From 1873 to 1912 it also served as the home of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.In 1922 the Jefferson County Courthouse became the scene of another sensational trial, this time involving coal miners. Attempts among miners to form a labor union in Logan County were met with fierce resistance from mine operators. Thousands of armed miners from around the region marched towards Logan County to force unionization. Local police forces and mercenaries hired by the coal companies confronted the miners, resulting in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. The miners were forced to back down, and hundreds were eventually detained and tried. In order to ensure a fair trial and prevent more violence, many were moved to the courthouse in Charles Town. Among those tried were union leader Bill Blizzard. The trials were later moved again to Morgan, Greenbrier, and Fayette Counties. In 2017 controversy arose over the presence of a Confederate plaque near the front entrance of the courthouse. Installed in 1986 by a local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, it honors Confederate soldiers from Jefferson County in the Civil War. Several locals submitted a letter urging the plaque to be removed in the summer of 2017, arguing that it is offensive to African Americans. Other locals defended the plaque, arguing that it memorializes history. After much publicity and debate in local meetings, the Jefferson County Commission voted not to remove the plaque.

The Jefferson County Courthouse was originally built between 1803-1808 in Charles Town on a plot of land donated by Charles Washington. It was replaced by a larger structure in 1836. Due to damage incurred during the Civil War, the Jefferson County seat was temporarily moved to Shepherdstown, and then moved back to Charles Town in 1872. The Jefferson County Courthouse is famous for housing two treason trials: John Brown's trial after his raid on the Harpers Ferry armory in 1859, and the trial against unionizing coal miners from Logan County in 1922. Today the courthouse remains in operation and is open to the public. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Jefferson County Courthouse

In 1902, Arthur Davenport bought the Carter House, removed it, and built the Jefferson Hotel. A group of Charles Town businessmen formed the Jefferson Hotel Corporation in 1945 and purchased the Jefferson Hotel property with the intention to provide Charles Town residents with restaurants, lunch rooms, barber shops, beauty parlors, and refreshment facilities in connection with the hotel. Only white men were welcomed fully to the hotel and its amenities. Women had to use a separate entrance (note the sign “Women’s entrance” on the far left in the image behind) and African Americans were barred from staying at the hotel.


Thomas Jefferson Hotel 

Located in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, historic Jefferson County is the northern gateway to the lovely Shenandoah Valley. Flowing along the northeastern border is the Potomac River. To the southeast are the ancient Blue Ridge Mountains and the meandering Shenandoah River, which joins the Potomac at Harpers Ferry.For millennia, until their population were decimated by European colonizers, Native Americans traversed the Shenandoah Valley engaged in hunting, trading, and warfare. After colonization until 1863, Jefferson County was part of Virginia. In the middle of the Civil War, it became the easternmost part of the new state of West Virginia.Jefferson County’s rich history is a microcosm of the larger historical events that shaped the nation—from George Washington’s surveying here in the mid-1700s to John Brown’s Raid at Harpers Ferry through the Civil War and establishment of Storer College for freed African Americans after the Civil War to the Miners’ Trials in the 1920s.&nbsp;Artifacts and documents on display in the
Jefferson County Museum reflect the county’s vibrant history and explore facets
of women’s history, African American history, military history, and everyday
life clothing, objects, and items. 

Among the museum’s oldest items include a collection of documents
and objects related to the Washington family—including a handwritten letter by
George Washington. Charles Washington, youngest full brother to George
Washington, was the founder of Charles Town, the current county seat of
Jefferson County. 

The exhibit “Slavery- Our Great National Sin,” constructed
in partnership with the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society,
introduces the history of enslavement in Jefferson County in the decades
leading up to the Civil War, as well as the abiding legacy of this institution
on later generations. Telling this story would not be complete without the
history of abolitionist John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. After storming the
U.S. Armory in Harpers Ferry, Brown was captured by U.S. Marines and taken to
Charles Town to be jailed and tried. The museum’s collection includes the wagon
that carried Brown to his hanging site. 

The museum preserves and displays artifacts that detail the
county’s involvement in past wars including the Civil War, World War I, World
War II, and the 21st century war on terror. A rare Second National
Flag of Confederacy given to Stuart’s Horse Artillery is on display along with
other Union and Confederate uniforms, guns, pins, and documents.&nbsp;

The Jefferson County Museum is located in historic downtown Charles Town and shares a building with its partner organization, the Charles Town Library. Since its founding in 1965, the museum has been dedicated to fostering the understanding and love of history. The museum is committed to the acquisition, preservation, and exhibition of artifacts and documents of historical value and relevance to the county and the region from early Native American activities and the European colonization in the 1700s through the 21st century war on terrorism. 

Jefferson County Museum

John Yates Beall was born on his family’s farm on January 1, 1835 near Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1852, he enrolled at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Three years later, in June 1855, Beall dropped out before earning a degree. After his father’s death later that same year, he took over management of the family farm.  Following John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Beall enlisted as a private in the Charles Town militia company—known as the Botts Greys—and was on duty during Brown’s trial and execution in Charles Town in late 1859. Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter and President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion in the southern slave states, the Botts Greys became Company G of the Second Virginia Infantry. The company would eventually become part of Confederate General Thomas Jackson’s famous “Stonewall Brigade.” In the fall of 1861, while detailed in Jefferson County, Beall learned of the fighting at nearby Bolivar Heights. He joined Lieutenant Colonel Ashby’s Confederate troops and sustained a gruesome chest wound while leading a charge. In the spring of 1862, after a lengthy recovery from his battle wound, Beall rejoined Jackson’s brigade in Jefferson County. During the confusion of a retreat in the Shenandoah Valley, he became separated from his unit. Frustrated and unable to find it, Beall set out for Iowa, where his older brother set him up with a job operating a gristmill. That fall, fearing that his identity as a Confederate soldier was about to be revealed, he left Iowa for Canada, eventually settling near Toronto. In January 1863, Beall left Canada for Richmond. While residing in the Confederate capital, he pitched a plan to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Eager to get back in the fight, Beall proposed leading guerrilla naval operations against federal targets in the Chesapeake Bay. President Davis approved the plan and commissioned him an acting master in the Confederate navy. Over the course of several months, Beall and his men, operating from a secret headquarters in Mathews County and equipped with a yawl and a sailing canoe, captured U.S. merchant ships, destroyed a lighthouse, and severed underwater telegraph cables. In the fall of 1863, federal troops captured Beall and his men. After months in federal captivity, Beall gained his freedom as part of a prisoner exchange in March 1864.  In August of that same year, he traveled to Canada, where he contacted Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Thompson, who oversaw Confederate operations along the U.S.-Canada border. Thompson ordered Beall to conduct a raid to free Confederate prisoner of war held on Johnson’s Island on Lake Erie. The raid, however, was called off during its early stages. Soon after, Beall joined a small group of Confederate saboteurs who were tasked with derailing federal trains transporting Confederate prisoners of war. In December, federal troops captured him at Niagara Falls. Federal authorities eventually transported Beall to Fort Lafayette to stand trial for spying, attempting to derail federal trains, and for his role in the failed raid on Johnson’s Island. After being convicted, Beall was sent to Fort Columbus on Governors Island in New York Harbor. There, on February 24, 1865, he was executed. His body was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. In 1870, relatives reinterred his remains in the Zion Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charles Town.  In 2017, as part of its Civil War sesquicentennial project, the West Virginia Highway Historical Marker Program of the West Virginia Archives and History installed a marker dedicated to John Yates Beall. It stands near the intersection of East Washington and North Mildred Streets in Charles Town, Jefferson County.

Born near Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), John Yates Beall was a Confederate naval officer and saboteur during the Civil War. For several months in 1863, he led guerrilla naval operations against federal targets in the Chesapeake Bay. Operating from a secret headquarters in Mathews County, Beall and his men captured U.S. merchant ships, destroyed a lighthouse, and severed underwater telegraph cables. In September 1864, he led a failed raid to free Confederate prisoners of war held on Johnson’s Island on Lake Erie. Later that same year, federal troops captured him at Niagara Falls while he was working with a small group of saboteurs to derail federal trains transporting Confederate prisoners of war. On February 24, 1865, he was executed at Fort Columbus on Governors Island in New York Harbor. His body was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. In 1870, relatives reinterred his remains in the Zion Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charles Town.

John Yates Beall Highway Historical Marker 

<div>The Webb-Blessing house is located on land that was originally owned by George Washington's Brother, Samuel Washington. Later, the house was deeded to Isaac and Charlotte Gray who are recorded in the land register as “free persons of color.” The property was deeded to Patty Webb ( a free African-American woman) on October 25, 1830. In 1839, Patty divided her property and deeded it to her sons, Fielding Webb and James Webb, but she lived on the property until 1850. According to the deed, there was a stone house on the property cited as&nbsp;“belonging to James Webb.” The left portion of Webb-Blessing house represents one of the earliest stone structures built and owned by free African Americans during the Antebellum period. The house was built between July 18, 1829 and October 25, 1830.&nbsp; </div><div> </div><div>Following the Civil War, a&nbsp;German immigrant&nbsp;by the name of John Blessing, was deeded the Webb's former property. Blessing fought for the Confederate Army in the Civil War serving in the Army of the Valley District. Blessing was a baker by trade and in 1859, ironically, he prepared meals for John Brown during Brown's incarceration in the Charles Town Jail. Supposedly Brown even gave Blessing his Bible as he was being led to his execution. </div><div> </div><div>Blessing connected what was formerly the Webb House to his house and used the Webb House as an old stone kitchen. On April 8, 1869 Blessing fell asleep in a chair and died in the corner of the old stone kitchen.The last Blessing to occupy the property was Miss Ollie Blessing, who&nbsp;passed away on February 18, 1983.&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>The Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society purchased the Webb-Blessing house in 2003 with intentions of restoring and historically preserving the home. The Mills Group was hired to first stabilize, then restore, and finally utilize the structure as a house museum. Both floors of the Webb House, the stone structure,&nbsp;are being restored&nbsp;to the 1860s era. One of the upper level rooms in the Blessing household will be used to store some of the exhibits developed by the JCBHPS. Another upper room will serve as a research center, which will be available to the general public. The third upper level room, known as “The Nathaniel Downing Room,” serves as a meeting room. Doug Perks and the Sons of the Confederacy have developed the exhibits and displays to be housed in the front room of the first level in the Blessing home.&nbsp;The second room on the first level&nbsp;in the Blessing house has been turned into an exhibit that&nbsp;honors the African American&nbsp;members of the military&nbsp;from Jefferson County who served in the Civil War to the Vietnam War. The Dolly Madison Garden Club has also restored the backyard to a nineteenth century-style garden. </div>

The Webb-Blessing House is one of the oldest stone structures built and owned by free African Americans in Jefferson County. This structure in Charles Town consists of two homes that were combined together in the 19th Century. The Webb-Blessing House was purchased by the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society in 2003, and the organization is in the process of renovating and restoring the home.

The Webb-Blessing House

In the early 1900s
Annie G. Packette, a noted local and descendant of the Washington family,
sought to increase the role of the performing arts in the Charles Town
community. In 1910 she spearheaded an effort to raise $50,000 for building an
opera house on North George Street. Washington D. C. architect Thomas A.
Mullett was commissioned to design the structure. The New Opera House, as it
was originally called, was given a simple design, with seating for at least
500, an orchestra pit, and a curved balcony. The house had its grand opening on
February 14, 1911 with a performance of the comedy play Bachelor Girls’
Federation of Clubs, featuring local actors. Proceeds from the show went to the
local United Daughters of the Confederacy branch to care for Confederate
veterans. 

The New Opera House
originally hosted theatrical performances but also included vaudeville,
minstrels, readings, circuses, and even basketball games and boxing matches.
Occasionally it held church services and election returns, and at one point it
stored supplies for disaster relief. The first films began to be screened in
1915. By the 1930s, with the introduction of the “talkies,” the opera house was
serving primarily as a movie theater. Business declined as movies overtook live
entertainment, and in 1948 the opera house closed. The building was converted
into commercial space and for the next few decades it served variously as a
florist shop, antique store, apartments, and a bowling alley. Gradually it
began deteriorating and accumulating waste, including a large amount of pigeon
droppings in the auditorium.

In 1971 a group of
local citizens, including Dixie Kilham, owner of the Hilltop House hotel in
Harpers Ferry, arranged to clean out the inside of the building. In 1973 the
Old Opera House Theatre Company was formed with the intention of acquiring,
restoring, and reopening the theater for performances. The Todd family, which
owned both the theater and an adjacent building constructed in the 1890s,
agreed to donate both structures to the group. The next several years were
spent fundraising and doing restoration work. The theater ceiling was re-plastered,
a new floor and new seats were installed. The second building meanwhile was
converted into space for a theater workshop, offices, and a rehearsal area. In 1978
the New Opera House, renamed the Old Opera House, was added to the National
Register of Historic Places. 

The opera house
reopened to the public in October 1976 with a production of My Fair Lady. Today the theatre company
hosts six plays, a one-act play festival, a ballet, and a summer youth theatre
camp at the opera house. In 2008 the Old Opera House Arts Centre was
established to offer lessons in acting, dance, and voice to people of all ages.
The lower level of the building is now also home to the Jean Heiler Gallery,
showcasing the work of local artists. The opera house also operates a thrift
store on North Charles Street as a fundraising initiative.

The Old Opera House is a historic performing arts center in Charles Town. It opened in 1911 under the direction of Annie Packette, a prominent local who sought to bring more culture to the community. The opera house hosted a number of plays, vaudeville shows, minstrels, sporting events, and film screenings before closing in 1948. In 1973 the building was donated to the newly-formed Old Opera House Theatre Company which worked to restore and refurbish the old theatre. It reopened to the public in 1976 and today hosts a variety of plays along with an art gallery and acting, dance, and singing lessons. The Old Opera House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 

Old Opera House 

Martin Delany was a physician, author, and early Black nationalist. He was born in Charles Town,&nbsp; (West) Virginia on May 6, 1812, to a free mother and slave father. Since the law determined one's status as free or slave based on the condition of the mother, Delany was free. However,&nbsp;thousands of free people of color found that their freedom could be lost-even Northerners such as Solomon Northup, subject of the popular movie&nbsp;Twelve Years a Slave. In addition, African Americans&nbsp;found that their freedoms were limited both by&nbsp;law and custom.&nbsp;For example, Delany's mother fled to&nbsp;Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1822, after white Virginians discovered that Martin and his siblings were being taught to read. In 1831, Martin Delany moved to Pittsburgh to continue his education, and later&nbsp;studied medicine with several doctors throughout Pennsylvania.Delany won fame for his writing, publishing articles in Black newspapers and with abolitionists in the Pittsburgh area in the early 1840s.&nbsp;Delany went on to work as the co-editor of the North Star, a newspaper edited by Frederick Douglas&nbsp;in Rochester. In 1850, Delany and two other Black men were admitted to&nbsp;Harvard's medical&nbsp;school. However,&nbsp;they were soon removed in response to&nbsp;objections&nbsp;from white students.&nbsp;Delany is often referred to as "The Father of Black Nationalism" because so many of his works focused on the creation of Black institutions and a separate homeland for people of African descent.&nbsp;Delany's "The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States,"&nbsp;became one of the most influential tracts&nbsp;for those who sought to improve the condition of the race by&nbsp;creating&nbsp;homogenous communities and Black institutions. Hoping to create a new community where African Americans could live without racial prejudice, Delany moved to Chatham, Canada, in 1856.In 1858, Martin Delany&nbsp;attended John Brown's Chatham Convention, where Brown presented his Provisional Constitution and revealed a plan to free slaves; it would eventually lead to the violent&nbsp;raid on Harper's Ferry in October 1859. Brown at this time had garnered the support of Delany and other prominent Black leaders and the respect of&nbsp;Frederick Douglass. However, Delany and Brown rejected his plan, believing it best to continue to create Black communities in places such as Canada that could harbor escaped slaves rather than launching a direct assault on Southern slaveholders.&nbsp;During the Civil War, Delany recruited Black troops in Massachusetts and&nbsp;became the first Black field officer for the Union Army in 1865, when he was commissioned as&nbsp;a Major. After the war, Delany lived in South Carolina for several years. He worked for the Freedom's Bureau for three years and was active&nbsp;in politics. Delany was very unhappy with Reconstruction and eventually supported the white Democratic redeemer Wade Hampton. Delany died in Wilberforce, Ohio, on January 24, 1885.In 1999 a memorial was erected on the property of Star Lodge #1, Free and Accepted Masons, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of WV, INC. The marker is both an indicator of where Delany was born and the only known public tribute in West Virginia&nbsp;for Delany. The Free Mason lodge is of the town's oldest stone structures, completed in 1795. It was purchased from Charles Washington, brother to President George Washington and the town's namesake, to serve as a lodge for local free masons.

Martin Delany was born in Charles Town, West Virginia and went on to become one of the most influential African Americans of the 19th century. Delany was an abolitionist, author, editor, physician, and the highest-ranking African American officer in the Civil War. Martin Delany was also instrumental in supporting Frederick Douglass and shaping the famous leader's thoughts about the extent to which African Americans could support nonviolence without accommodating the violent regime of chattel slavery. Delany is thought to be the first Black nationalist in America.  

Historic Charles Town West Virginia Walking Tour

First Black School in Charles Town/Achilles Dixon Home

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information