Allstadt Farm: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, National Park Service
Everett J. 2011. Allstadt Farm: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, National Park Service. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 600290. NPS National Capital Regional Office. National Capital Regional Office/CLI Database
The Allstadt Farm is situated approximately two miles southwest of the Town of Harpers Ferry and five miles northeast of the City of Charles Town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Of the approximately 672 acres that constituted the Allstadt Farm as it existed at the time of John Brown’s Raid in October 1859 and the Battle of Harpers Ferry in September 1862, 267.46 acres are currently managed by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Harpers Ferry National Monument was established in 1944 and re-designated Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in 1963. Before the boundary expansion was approved in 2004, the park consisted of 2,505 acres of land. Including the acreage constituting the Allstadt Farm cultural landscape, a total of 1,240 acres were added to the park during the expansion, increasing the park’s boundaries to a total of 3,745 acres. The Allstadt Farm cultural landscape is significant in four distinct areas and periods of history. The property is significant in agricultural history (1793-1901) as a prosperous farmstead that was initially farmed by tenants and eventually owned and operated by Pennsylvania Germans who had migrated to the Shenandoah Valley in the early 1800s. Its significance in social history (1859-1861) results from its involvement with John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry, an event that profoundly impacted the issues of slavery and secession at the national level. The property is also significant in the area of military history (1861-1865) for the role it played in the Battle of Harpers Ferry during the Civil War, which culminated in the largest surrender of federal troops during the course of that conflict. Finally, the property is significant in the area of industrial history (1901-1957) because of the successful dolomite limestone quarrying operation that was established on the property in the early twentieth century, which grew to include numerous industrial buildings and worker's houses that were part of the company town of Millville.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Everett, Jeff
- Date of Issue
- 2011-09-19
- Publisher
- NPS National Capital Regional Office
- Units
- HAFE , NCR
- Keywords
- Agricultural Field, Agriculture, animal husbandry, Barn, Battles In The North And South, Dolomite Limestone Quarry, farm, Jackson's Right Flank, John Brown's Raid, Livestock, Millville, Mining, outbuilding, Pennsylvania Germans, plantation, Recreation, Road-Related, Scenic Landscape, The Civil War, The Rise of Sectionalism, Vernacular