John Brown’s Fort was built as a firehouse in Harper’s Ferry West Virginia in 1848. It is the site where, in 1859, John Brown and his followers barracaded themselves after attempting to take over the adjacent armory. Ironically, the insurrection was put down by none other than Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart. In 1891 the building was sold, shipped in pieces, reassembled, and put on display in Chicago near the Columbian Exposition. It attracted a grand total of 11 visitors. Then in 1895 it was dismantled and shipped back to Harper’s Ferry, where it sat in a farmer’s field. After that it was moved to a local college campus where it stayed until 1968 when it made its final move to about 150 feet from where it was originally situated. The first photo is dated 1888, and the second one was taken in 1895.
