Information Panel: Every Inch Counted

Information Panel: Every Inch Counted

NPS / Claire Hassler

Quick Facts

Amenities

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The walls around you tell the story of crowded living in Harpers Ferry on the eve of the Civil War. With a population of nearly 3,000 people, space was scarce. Many buildings (like the buildings in front and to the left of you) shared walls with their neighbors. The 1824 buildings in front of you was both a home and a business at the time of the war. The first floor housed a clothing store whose owner made his home on the upper floors. Factory workers and townspeople shopped in the butcher shop and grocery store on the first floor of the 1844 building to your left.

1844

Completed in 1844, this building shared a wall with its neighbor. Notice how the builder cut back part of this new wall so it would not block the window in the neighborhing 1824 building.

1824

This 1824 building was altered over time. The window in front of you was bricked in sometime after the 1844 building (to your left) was completed.