Drink Your Apples: Cider Making in 1860

Visitors are invited to join the Living History staff and volunteers for Drink Your Apples: Cider Making in 1860.  Make cider at Roeder’s White Hall Tavern on Potomac Street. This time- honored tradition produced the most popular 19th century beverage for man, woman, an......More

Visitors are invited to join the Living History staff and volunteers for Drink Your Apples: Cider Making in 1860.  Make cider at Roeder’s White Hall Tavern on Potomac Street. This time- honored tradition produced the most popular 19th century beverage for man, woman, and child. Harpers Ferry’s White Hall Tavern proprietor, German immigrant Frederick Roeder, brought his brewing and baking expertise with him to America. Both processes were co-dependent on the cultivation and use of hops. Roeder’s 1860 tavern offered patrons a fine assortment of distilled and fermented beverages. Annual cider house pressings were consumed as fresh cider, fermented hard cider by the introduction of yeast, or distilled hard cider a process that concentrated the alcohol content. Both alcohol methods preserved this popular fall beverage to be enjoyed far into the dark and cold winter days that were ahead. 

White Hall Tavern, historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry.

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square.

Arsenal Square in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Veterans Day Ceremony: Soldiers at Harpers Ferry

For 250 years, military service has shaped the nation’s democratic institutions and the lives of those who have defended them. This ceremony honors their service with a wreath-laying at the Storer College Veterans’ Monument, which honors Storer College students who serv......More

For 250 years, military service has shaped the nation’s democratic institutions and the lives of those who have defended them. This ceremony honors their service with a wreath-laying at the Storer College Veterans’ Monument, which honors Storer College students who served in the Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I Local veterans are encouraged to attend, while volunteers will represent soldiers from past generations. Co-sponsored by Harpers Ferry Park Association, the American Legion, and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.More details will be added soon.

Historic Storer College Campus (near Stephen T. Mather Training Center)

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square.

Arsenal Square in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square.

Arsenal Square in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square.

Arsenal Square in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry

The Story Behind the Scenery

Join park staff for an overview of the landscape and history that made this place famous. Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Arsenal Square, near the John Brown Fort in Lower Town.

Clearing the Sky: John Brown's Raid and the Trial that Split the Nation, Part 1

Join a Ranger for a special 2-part program marking the anniversary of John Brown's Raid. Part 1 will begin at 11:00AM in historic Lower Town. The history leading up to John Brown's Raid and the events of the Raid will be the focus of this 1-hour segment, which will conc......More

Join a Ranger for a special 2-part program marking the anniversary of John Brown's Raid. Part 1 will begin at 11:00AM in historic Lower Town. The history leading up to John Brown's Raid and the events of the Raid will be the focus of this 1-hour segment, which will conclude at 12:00PM. 12:00PM - 1:30 will be a break for lunch and travel to Charles Town. Part 2 will begin at 1:30PM at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town, site of John Brown's trial. Please see the 1:30 event listed separately for details on part 2. This 2-part guided program will include a total of 1 mile of walking on mostly flat ground. We recommend comfortable walking shoes. There are restaurants in very close walking distance in the historic Harpers Ferry Lower Town and in downtown Charles Town where visitors can get lunch during the break. Parking in Charles Town may be found behind the Jefferson County Museum at 200 E Washington St, or at the municipal lot beside 114 W Liberty Street, both in Charles Town, WV 25414. 

The Green in historic Lower Town, Harpers Ferry.

Clearing the Sky: John Brown's Raid and the Trial that Split the Nation, Part 2

Join a Ranger for a special 2-part program marking the 165th Anniversary of John Brown's Raid. Please see the separate listing at 11:00 for Part 1. Part 2 will begin at 1:30PM at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town, site of John Brown's trial. The tour concl......More

Join a Ranger for a special 2-part program marking the 165th Anniversary of John Brown's Raid. Please see the separate listing at 11:00 for Part 1. Part 2 will begin at 1:30PM at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Charles Town, site of John Brown's trial. The tour concludes at the site of Brown’s execution and the Jefferson County Museum, featuring artifacts such as the wagon that transported Brown to his hanging. The program will conclude at 2:30PM. This 2-part guided program will include a total of 1 mile of walking on mostly flat ground. We recommend comfortable walking shoes. There are restaurants in very close walking distance in the historic Harpers Ferry Lower Town and in downtown Charles Town where visitors can get lunch during the break. Parking in Charles Town may be found behind the Jefferson County Museum at 200 E Washington St, or at the municipal lot beside 114 W Liberty Street, both in Charles Town, WV 25414.

Jefferson County Courthouse, 100 E Washington St, Charles Town, WV