Last updated: October 10, 2024
Place
Jefferson Rock
NPS/ Claire Hassler
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Scenic View/Photo Spot
"On your right comes up the Shenandoah, having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Patowmac [Potomac], in quest of a passage also. In the moment of their junction they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder, and pass off to the sea... This scene is worth the voyage across the Atlantic."
This is how Thomas Jefferson described the view from here during a visit to Harpers Ferry in 1783. Around 1860, the U.S. Armory superintendent ordered red sandstone suppers placed under "Jefferson's Rock" because it was "endangering the lives and properties of the villagers below."