A work trip took me through the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. I took some time to walk around the downtown section.
The town was founded by George Washington's youngest brother, Charles. The claim to fame for the town is the setting of the trial of John Brown and his conspirators in the raid at nearby Harper's Ferry, as well as their execution. Jefferson County was also the only territory of the Union not exempt from the Emancipation Proclamation, thereby becoming the first slaves to be freed from a state not in rebellion.
Welcome to Charles Town
The founding of Charles Town
Jefferson County Courthouse, made famous as the site of the trial of John Brown
John Brown scaffold site, later the Gibson-Todd House, built in 1891 at the site of Brown's hanging by John Thomas Gibson, who led the first armed response on Brown at Harper's Ferry.
Old Stone House, built in 1790s
Town Hall of Charles Town
The Old Opera House
Zion Episcopal Church
Churchyard at Zion Episcopal Church
Zion Episcopal Church
Charles Town Baptist Church