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Historic Martinsburg West Virginia Walking Tour
Item 3 of 12

The Triple Brick Museum

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Located in a brick house constructed by Philip Showers in 1874 and rented to railroad workers and their families, this museum includes exhibits related to the history of Martinsburg in the 19th century including surveying equipment, flax and wool spinning wheels, quilts, railroad items, pottery and glassware, and numerous other items connected to the industrial, social, and cultural history of the town. The museum also includes fossils, original stone tools and arrowheads, and an assortment of military uniforms from various American wars. The museum also includes pottery shards that were discovered during archaeological excavations on the Adam Stephen House property.

Images

This is the main sign to the Adam Stephens House and the Triple Brick Museum.

This is the main sign to the Adam Stephens House and the Triple Brick Museum.

This is the stunning view of the Triple Brick Museum. As seen, there are several visitors of the museum.

This is the stunning view of the Triple Brick Museum. As seen, there are several visitors of the museum.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

This museum is located adjacent to the General Adam Adam Stephen House. Stephen was born in Scotland around 1718 and gained a degree in surgery in 1746 in Edinburgh. Stephen came to America in 1748 and practiced medicine in Fredericksburg, Virginia after purchasing land in Frederick County. This property is now part of Jefferson County, West Virginia. 

Adam Stephen established a military post on the Virginia border in 1754 at the start of the French and Indian War and was serving was with Colonel Washington and General Braddock at the start of that conflict. In 1770, he obtained land by the Tuscarora Creek in what is now Berkeley County. He surveyed, divided, and sold this land to develop the town of Martinsburg and served as a general in the American Revolution.   

Adam Stephens later gave in an important speech at the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1788 that helped to persuade the Virginia delegates to approve the United States Constitution. He also wrote an article in 1789 for the Virginia Gazette that was titled "Expostulations on the Potomack" which endorsed the location of the federal capital on the Potomac River. Adam Stephen passed away in Martinsburg on July 16, 1791 and is buried in a family cemetery that is now located at the 600 block of South Queen Street in Martinsburg. 

Sources

MARTINSBURG-BERKELEY COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU. History and Museums. Martinsburg, Berkeley County, WV. . Sept. 22, 2018. https://www.travelwv.com/history/.

Trip Advisor. Triple Brick Museum. . Sept. 22, 2018. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g59292-d6109635-Reviews-Triple_Brick_Museum-Martinsburg_West_Virginia.html.

The Best Things in West Virginia. . Sept. 22, 2018. https://bestthingswv.com/place/triple-brick-museum-martinsburg-wv.html.