Information Panel: Burned, Flooded, and Leveled

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The stone and brick walls in front of you show the outline of the Small Arsenal. The actual foundation of this former weapons storehouse lies below ground. In 1959 National Park Service archeologists first excavated the foundation - 100 years after John Brown's raid. The 1959 excavation report describes the intensity of the fire that destroyed the building in 1861. The fire "baked red" the top layer of clay and left behind "twisted and partly melted muskets and parts, some of the fused into each other." The report suggests that the building's slate roof, brick walls and drafts from the cellar windows created a "furnace effect" leaving behind only a shell of the building. Floods swept through the building shell twice before federal troops leveled it. In 2009 National Park Service specialists constructed this partial representation of the small arsenal based on evidence from archeological excavations.

Illustration Caption: The Foundation and Excavation Plan shows the Small Arsenal areas excavated in 1959. The grey outline shows the footprint of a 1870 building built over the remains of the Small Arsenal.

Photo Caption: 1959 Excavation. Twisted and melted musket parts from pit.