John Brown Fort

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Chronology of Events
1848	Built as fire-engin house for U.S. Armory.
1859	Serves as stronghold for John Brown and his raiders.
1861- 1865	Escapes destruction during Civil War (only armory building to do so), but is vandalized by souvenir-hunting Union and Confederate soldiers and later travelers.
1891	Dismantled and transported to Chicago Exposition.
1895	Rescued from conversion to stable and brought back to Harpers Ferry area to be exhibited on a farm.
1909	Purchased by Storer College and moved to campus.
1968	Moved by National Park Service to within 150 feet of its original location.

The John Brown Fort has a curious past. Since its construction in 1848, it has been vandalized, dismantled, and moved four times -- all because of its fame as John Brown's stronghold.

On October 16, 1859, the abolitionist John Brown and his men attacked Harpers Ferry. By the following afternoon the local militia had penned the raiders in this building. United States Marines stormed the building at dawn on the 18th and captured Brown. Convicted of murder, treason, and inciting slaves to rebellion, he was hanged in nearby Charles Town on December 2, 1859.

(Information adapted from resources provided by the National Park Service.)