Jefferson County, West Virginia
"The Land Where We Were Dreamin'" - Daniel Bedinger Lucas © copyright, 2001, James T. Surkamp Design by Bad Dad Design Photos credit Dana Spitzer, the McDonald Family, Edwin Fitzpatrick heirs Duke University Manuscript Collection, the Funkhouser Family. Thanks to Bune Carter To order posters for your school or library, or for more information: jim@jimsurkamp.net |
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Quarter billion years - Continents collide,
make Appalachians
25,000 BC - Ice Age, tundra with elk, Mountain streams, water power; Mountaintops become upland soils; 10,000 BC - Settlements along Opequon; Warming, trees taller, smaller wildlife; Legends of tribes from north; 800 AD - Corn, palisaded villages 1000 AD - Beans as food 1400 AD - Cold, tribes leave 1670 - John Lederer sees Valley. 1707 - Louis Michel sees Harpers Ferry 1707? - Catarina Beierlin killed 1719 - Shepherdstown as "Potomoke" 1729 - John Smith begins Smithfield 1730 - John Van Metre's 30,000 acres 1730s - Piedmont 1731 - Joist Hite comes with families 1734 - Thomas Shepherd's land, builds mill 1734-1790s - Scollay Hall |
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1735 - Fairfax Grant Stock Farm
1740(circa) - Stone House, Morgan's Spring 1742 - White House 1742 - Wm Vestal's iron works, Shenandoah 1748 - Spring flood, Potomac |
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1748 - Young George Washington surveys
1748 - Robert Harper at Harpers Ferry 1753 - "Pumpkin Flood" 1750-52 - GW buys first lands here (2314 acres) 1750(circa) - Beverly 1751 - New Light Baptists demand freedoms 1755 - GW visits 1759-60 - Smallpox 1760 - Springdale 1762 - John Augustine Washington builds Prospect Hill house |
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1769 - Old Episcopal Church, Shepherdstown
1769 - GW visits 1770s - Prato Rio 1770 - Samuel Washington's Harewood 1770(circa) - Glenburnie 1771(circa) - St. George's Chapel 1773(or sooner) - Traveler's Rest 1770s - Eastwood 1773 - Bellevue, Shepherdstown |
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1774 - GW visits
1774 - Calico Cottage, Kearneysville 1775 - 200 men's 25-day "Beeline" march 600 miles 1776 - "Hessian fly" harms wheat 1779 - GW at Bullskin 1780(circa) - Charles Washington's Happy Retreat |
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1780(circa) - Mantipike
1780s - Mt. Ellen 1781(circa) - Selby-Hamtramck House, Shepherdstown 1783 - Mt. Hammond 1783 - Thomas Jefferson visits, extols Harpers Ferry 1784 - GW at Happy Retreat 1786 - End of 50-year Fairfax-Hite suit 1786 - Locust Hill 1787 - James Rumsey tries steamboat, Shepherdstown |
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1787 - Elmwood
1788(circa)- Aspen Pool 1789(circa) - Landsdale 1789 - T. Jefferson on Rumsey: "The most brillant and original mechanical genius I have ever seen." 1790 - Pop. (est.) 9,500, 1,700 enslaved 1790 - Shepherdstown/Sharpsburg as Nation's Capitol 1790 - Strider Farm 1791 - Head Spring, Summit Point 1793 - Cold Spring 1793(circa) - Chapline-Shenton House |
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1793(circa) - Linden Spring
1794 - James Madison marries Dolly Payne, Harewood 1794 - Adam Livingston's house exorcised (Legend of Wizard Clip) 1795 - Caledonia 1796 - Kearsley House |
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1797 - Academy's first of 50 years, Charles Town
1799 - Arsenal/armory completed, John Hall's inter-changeable parts, Harpers Ferry |
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late 1700s - Rockland
1800 - Pop.(est.) 1,357 families, at least 1,451 enslaved 1800 - 1 tavern per 71 families; 1 store per 42 families. 1801 - Jefferson County formed, 211 sq. miles 1810 - Pop. 11,851, 3,532 enslaved 1810 - Flood, Potomac 1812 - Martin Robison Delany born Charles Town |
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1820 - Pop. 13,087, 4,132 enslaved
1820 - Claymont 1820s - Shannondale Springs Pres. Monroe's "Summer White House" 1820 - Blakeley 1824 - Highway bridge to MD, Harpers Ferry 1830 - Pop. 12,927, 3,999 enslaved 1831-32 - Cholera 1832 - John P. Kennedy's book "Swallow Barn" on "The Bower" |
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1833 - C&O canal, Harpers Ferry to Georgetown
1836 - Winchester-Baltimore train via Summit Point, Harpers Ferry 1840 - Pop. 14,082, 4,127 enslaved 1840 - #2 wheat (517,000bu) of 118 counties 1842 - RR links farms to Baltimore, stifles local mfrs. |
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1842 - Kearneysville: B&O, Kearney brothers
1843 - Flood 1846 - Free public schools 1849 - Winchester-Harpers Ferry RR telegraph 1849 - Bridge, Shepherdstown 1850 - Pop. 15,357, 4,341 enslaved 1850 - B&O to Columbus, OH 1850 - C&O Canal, D.C.-Cumberland, MD 1851 - 124-ft Bollman bridge, Harpers Ferry |
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1851 - Pres. M. Fillmore, Shannondale Springs
1852 - Spring flood 1859 - John Brown's raid on arsenal, Harpers Ferry; tried, hanged in Charles Town 1860 - Landless white males 21+ years vote 1860 - Pop. 14,535, 3,488 enslaved, (775 "fugitives") 1860 - #1 wheat county in Va.(422,514 bu.) |
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1861 - We vote vs. secession, then reverse when war starts
1861 - Harpers Ferry armory burned 1861 - About 1600 enlist from South, about 200 from North 1861 - Mt. Vernon heir killed at war 1861 - Gen. Jackson takes 42 locomotives, 386 cars |
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1861 - Skirmish, Harpers Ferry
1861 - County Clerk Moore saves records 1861 - Skirmish, Beller's Mill 1861 - Skirmish, Shepherdstown 1861 - Skirmish, Pritchard's Mill 1861 - Skirmish, near Harpers Ferry 1861 - Skirmish, Bolivar Hts. 1862 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1862 - Gen. Jackson captures 11,000 Union troops, Harpers Ferry 1862 - Confed. Lts. Baylor & Rouss rob train, Summit Point |
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1862 - Up to 8,000
Antietam wounded, Shepherdstown
1862 - Skirmish, Boteler's Ford, Shepherdstown 1862 - 269 Union soldiers lost, Boteler's Ford, Shepherdstown |
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1862 - Lincoln at Harpers Ferry
1862 - Gen. Stuart's men a month at "The Bower" 1862 - Gens. Stuart vs. Humphreys 2X, near Kearneysville 1862 - Skirmish, Union Gen. Hancock, Harpers Ferry to Charles Town 1862 - Skirmish, Charles Town to Halltown |
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1862 - Skirmish, Cockrall's Mills
1862 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1862 - Skirmish, Halltown 1863 - Skirmish, near Charles Town 1863 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1863 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1863 - County declared part of WV 1863 - Gen. Lee's army from Gettysburg, Shepherdstown |
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1863 - Skirmish, Harpers Ferry |
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1863 - Skirmish, Halltown 1863 - Skirmish, near Shepherdstown 1863 - Action, Shepherdstown 1863 - Skirmish, Smithfield (Middleway) 1863 - Skirmish, Summit Point 1863 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1863 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1864 - Raid, B&O RR, near Bardane 1864 - Skirmish, near Charles Town 1864 - Skirmish, Mosby, Mechanicstown 1864 - Skirmish, near Charles Town |
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1864 - Skirmish, near Kabletown
1864 - Skirmish, Smithfield 1864 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1864 - Skirmish, Mosby, Duffield's Stn. 1864 - Skirmish, Leetown, Ransom vs. Mulligan 1864 - Skirmish, Bolivar Hts. 1864 - Union Gen. Hunter burns 3 homes, Charles Town & Shepherdstown |
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1864 - Skirmish, Charles Town
1864 - Skirmish, Kabletown 1864 - Skirmish, near Shepherdstown 1864 - Skirmish, near Charles Town 1864 - Engagement, Sheridan vs. Early, Summit Point 1864 - Skirmish, Middleway 1864 - Engagement, Locust Hill 1864 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1864 - Skirmish, Kearneysville 1864 - Skirmish, Halltown |
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1864 - Action, near Shepherdstown
1864 - Action, near Kearneysville 1864 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1864 - Action, Halltown 1864 - Skirmish, Duffield's 1864 - Skirmish, Leetown 1864 - Skirmish, Smithfield |
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1864 - Engagement, Smithfield Crossing
1864 - Skirmish, near Charles Town 1864 - Mosby takes $173,000 from train, Bardane 1864 - Skirmish, Mosby vs. Blazer, Kabletown 1864 - Skirmish, Baylor vs. Payne, Charles Town 1864 - Skirmish, Kabletown 1865 - Skirmish, Charles Town 1865 - Skirmish, near Charles Town 1865 - Charles Town's John Yates Beall hanged as terrorist |
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1865 - Skirmish, Baylor captures men, Charles Town
1865 - Lincoln on M. Delany: "Most brillant and extraordinary" 1865 - About 67 local Confederate war dead 1865 - 1st black free school in WV, Harpers Ferry 1867 - Storer College, Harpers Ferry 1868 - Black males 21+ years vote |
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1869 - Halltown Paper Mill
1869 - Jefferson Security Bank, Shepherdstown 1870 - Robert E. Lee, Shepherdstown 1870 - Harpers Ferry's most deadly flood 1870 - Pop. 13,219, 3,488 African-Americans 1870 - Bollman Iron Truss bridge, Harpers Ferry 1871 - County ruled as WV's 1872 - Shepherd College begins, Shepherdstown |
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1874 - Littleton Page begins 40 years as black educator, Charles Town
1876 - 1st commercial apple orchard, Kearneysville 1878 - 1st RR bridge in Shepherdstown 1879 - SVRR Berryville- Hagerstown(NYC) 1884 - 50-year Morgan's Grove Fair, Shepherdstown |
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1880 - Pop. 15,005 , 4,045
African-Americans
1880s - Lime, manure help exhausted soil 1888-90 - Bakerton, Standard Lime & Stone Co. 1889 - Flood 1890 - Pop. 15,553, 4,116 African-Americans 1890 - Coal boom for N&W, SVRR 1892 - Baker Limestone Quarry's first of 30 years, Kearneysville |
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1892 - 1st electric lighting in Harpers Ferry
1894 - Steel truss bridge tunnel, Harpers Ferry 1895 - Apple business booms 1896 - RFD mail here first in nation. 1898 - 1st telephone in County 1900 - Pop. 15,935, 3,941 African-Americans 1900 - ex-President Grover Cleveland, Charles Town 1900 - Keystone Plant, Millville 1901 - 54.75 inches of rain 1902 - 1st electric lighting in Shepherdstown 1904 - 144 days below 32 degrees 1906 - NAACP ideas debut, Harpers Ferry |
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1909 - 1324-ft. long, 112-ft. high
bridge, Shepherdstown
1910 - Pop. 15,889, 3,499 African-Americans 1911 - 50, 90+ degree days, 10" rain in Aug. 1914 - "Danske" Dandridge dies, writes 4 books, 100 poems |
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1914 - WV Prohibition
1915 - State shifting to indirect tax methods 1915 - Pres. Woodrow Wilson, Hilltop House, Harpers Ferry 1918 - 548 (1/4 blacks) serve WW I, 30 die 1919 - Flu, 43 die in 4 months 1920 - Pop. 15,729, 3,016 African-Americans 1920 - Women 21+ years vote 1920s - Fed rules & vehicles hurt RRs 1922 - 3 Miners' trials, Charles Town |
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1920s - RR rates favor western wheat growers
1924 - C&O Canal closes 1922 - 20" snow, Charles Town 1926 - More roads take N&W's passengers 1928 - Charles Town's Roy Hooe main mechanic on "Spirit of St. Louis" |
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1930 - Pop. 15,780
1930 - U.S. Fish Hatchery, Leetown 1930 - John Peale Bishop's "Many Thousands Gone" on Charles Town Scott Fitzgerald: "thrilling, beautifully written." 1933 - Horse racing, Charles Town |
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1930-31 - Worst drought
1930s - German Gen. Erwin Rommel visits 1932 - Tax Limitation Amndmnt. caps property taxes 1935 - 18 below zero, Kearneysville & Charles Town 1936 - 109 degrees, Charles Town, hot summer |
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1936 - Flood
1937 - H. F. Byrd largest continuous orchard in world, Charles Town 1939 - Rumsey Bridge, Shepherdstown to MD 1940 - Pop. 16,762 1940s - American chestnut stands almost gone 1940s - R. J. Funkhouser upgrades Ranson, 6 Washington homes |
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1940-6 - 1447 inducted, 47 killed in WW II
1942 - Flood 1944 - Harpers Ferry made Nat'l Monument 1950 - Pop. 17,184 |
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1952 - 55.76 inches rain, 4.95 one day
1950s - Patsy Cline in Bill Peer's band 1956 - May 25th freeze 1956 - "Miss Violet" Dandridge dies, Shepherdstown 1957 - N&W's last steam engine curbed 1957 - Dixie Narco, Ranson 1959 - September 18th freeze 1959 - Daisy Fritts retires, closing Poor Farm 1959 - Vote OKs 2nd race track, Charles Town 1960 - Pop. 18,665 |
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1960 - John F. Kennedy, Charles Town
1960s - No-till farming 1961 - 18 inches of snow, Charles Town 1963 - National Historic Park, Harpers Ferry 1965 - Schools finally integrated 1966 - Flood, Hurricane Fran 1967 - All-black Eagle Ave. School closes, Charles Town 1970 - Pop. 21,180 1972 - Flood 1970s - Fed price freeze hits chicken farmers 1971 - Persons 18+ years vote 1972 - "Miss Nina" Mitchell dies, Shepherdstown 1970s - Jimmy Carter fishes, Shepherdstown 1979 - USDA Fruit Research Station 1980 - Pop. 30,302, 2,733 African-American |
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1983 - 32 inches snow, Shepherdstown 24 hrs.
1980s - 30-year dairy boom fades 1987 - 4,477 pigs sold (12,588 sold in 1910) 1988 - 105 degrees, Charles Town, 60 days 90+ 1990 - Pop. 35,926 1996 - Two "100-year" floods 1997 - Penn National racing/video lottery 1997 - National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown |
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1997 - 225,064 bu/wheat on 3623 acres vs. 522,512 bu. on 29,567 acres (1910)
1997 - 1490 apple orchard acres vs. 3354 (1987) and 4,385 (1913) 1997 - 891,305 bu. corn on 10,374 acres (1860: 358,267 bu.; 1910: 635,697 bu. on 20,465 acres) 1997 - 232,763 bu./soybeans, none in 1982 1998 - Federal training center, Clarion, Shepherdstown 2000 - Israeli-Syrian Peace Talks & Pres. Clinton, Shepherdstown |
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2001 - 10-year trend toward "farmettes" |