
10/26/2023
Wow! Look at this great new paint job at First Zion! Second photo is the before look. Thanks to our volunteers!
The Foundation unites two towns with a vision of inspiring citizens & visitors with our history, beau
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The Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, educational, and scientific purposes, and to promote historical, scientific, educational, interpretive and economic activities of the Town of Harpers Ferry for the inspiration and benefit of the people of the United States as provided for in the Act of August 25, 1916 (16 USC Sec. 1 et seq) as am
ended and supplemented, including the Act of August 21, 1961 (75 Stat 586). Its activities may include, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. No part of the net earnings or income or funds of the Foundation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that the Foundation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth above. Upon dissolution of the Foundation, assets shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future Federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the Federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose. As part of its organization and maintenance of civic engagement, the Foundation will establish and maintain a partnership and cooperative agreement with the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
Wow! Look at this great new paint job at First Zion! Second photo is the before look. Thanks to our volunteers!
The latest news on our blog!
Warrior Expeditions is a veteran nonprofit outdoor therapy program that helps veterans transition from their wartime experiences through long distance outdoor expeditions.
Thank you, Mills Group, LLC !
We had another great day sharing about Harpers Ferry's Black history with a national philanthropy group. Thanks, Delores Jackson Foster, Lynn Pechuekonis, and Jamilla Jones of Jefferson County WV NAACP for making it happen!
We had a great afternoon sharing Harpers Ferry Black History with this fun DC-area group! Contact us if you have a group interested in a private tour.
Congratulations to our neighbors over in Charles Town, who also have created a great African American History Tour!
CHARLES TOWN — As a pre-event kickoff to the annual Jefferson County African American Heritage Festival, a packed room gathered at Charles Town City Hall Wednesday evening for the official
Mills Group Conceptual Architectural Probono recipients spotlight: First Zion Baptist Church in Harpers Ferry, WV.
The project aims to preserve African American cultural heritage in Harpers Ferry and Bolivar by restoring the historic 1894 First Zion Baptist Church to serve as a cultural arts center and gathering place for the community and visitors.
"Once the building is ready for public occupancy, the Foundation plans to open a community center. We see the center as a great opportunity to engage and unite the communities of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar and to memorialize the Black community that flourished here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."
📸: Nikki Bowman Mills
We're making some more progress!
We are making great progress at First Zion! Water damage to the ceiling revealed a tantalizing peak at a handsome wooden bead-board underneath the drywall.
Thank you Mills Group, LLC for selecting our First Zion Church restoration project for your pro Bono design services this year!
Congratulations to our 2023 Probono recipients!
We have selected four projects within the state of West Virginia to continue our tradition of giving back. This offer of probono services is our way of saying 'thank you' to the communities that have supported us over the years.
Project Names and Locations:
-Fire & EMS Station, (Anmoore, WV)
-First Zion Baptist Church, (Harpers Ferry, WV)
-Preston Co. Economic Development Association Workforce Training Center, (Kingwood, WV)
-National Youth Science Academy STEM Camp, (Tucker Co., WV)
Free furniture, lamps, odds and ends. What is not taken will be donated later this week.
1030 West Ridge Street Harpers Ferry
The beadboard ceiling is now completely exposed. Only a few spots need repair. It will look great with a new coat of paint.
Thanks again to all our generous supporters who are helping us make progress on the building restoration!
Unfortunately, although we were a finalist for this grant, we didn't make the final cut. Congratulations to a lot of great African-American heritage projects that did!
Now in its sixth year, the Action Fund's National Grant Program in 2023 is supporting 40 grant recipients that represent important aspects of African American life and achievement.
We've been making progress on the First Zion Church preservation these past couple of weeks! The canopy came off the front entrance, which returns the building to its original symmetry. We have Brad pulling down the drywall from the sanctuary ceiling to reveal the original beadboard. And the oil tank in the basement has been removed. We're also about to get electricity hooked up to the building.
Thanks again for all your support that is helping to fund this work!
Someone else loves Harpers Ferry...
The West Virginia guitarslinger just released his latest album ‘Magdalena’
A beautiful gift from a great lady...
The Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation is honored and deeply grateful to have received a significant bequest from the estate of the late Jane Rissler. She was a dear friend of board member Delores Jackson Foster and an advocate for local African American history. Her generous contributio...
Here's another historically significant Black owned property in Harpers Ferry that you can help preserve.
Harpers Ferry is on the verge of losing one o… Innovative Community Solutions needs your support for Save Harpers Ferry's Weaver-Gillison House
This great episode of "Get Out of Town" features two Foundation board members and highlights Black history in Harpers Ferry / Bolivar.
Laurita and Lauren enjoy outdoor adventures and history in Harpers Ferry, WV.
History lovers! You can tour this beautiful historic home in Harpers Ferry this weekend. Purchase a ticket for this one house or do the whole regional tour!
Tour Stop #5
SEVEN MAGNOLIAS
Shown by Windflower Garden Club.
Refreshments will be served.
Sited on a double lot at the highest point of Washington Street, this 1907 Sears Craftsman house commands great views of lower (old town) Harpers Ferry. The owners acquired the house in 2016 and began renovations with the intention to open a B&B in the future. The first floor retains the tin ceilings, wood floors, and elegant foyer staircase which are original to the house. Upstairs, the four bedrooms feature antique furniture, while the en suite bathrooms are individually decorated in designer tile and modern fixtures. The smaller rear rooms boast private balconies.
Outdoors, a 3-sided wrap-around porch opens to extensive gardens on a full-size city lot. Stone from local quarries, statuary and a tranquil pond add interest to the area, which features interesting groupings of flowers and shrubs, designed and planted by the current owner. Behind the house, a log cabin built by a former owner to house his wife's Montessori School, is planned as an artist's studio in the future.
Directions to SEVEN MAGNOLIAS
769 Washington Street,
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
From Charles Town: *follow 340 N approximately 6 mi. to light at Harpers Ferry. Continue on 340 to next left onto Union St. Follow 0.4 mi. to right onto Washington St. Go 0.3 mi. to house on left. PARKING available behind house: Turn rt. on McDowell St., one block to l. on Filmore. Watch for driveway in ½ block on l.
From Martinsburg: Take Rt. 9 E to Charles Town. Follow signs to 340 Harpers Ferry. Continue with *directions above.
Tickets available at each home.
Harpers Ferry and a couple of Foundation board members will be featured on this WETA episode of Get Out of Town, on Monday, May 1. Be sure and watch!
Laurita and Lauren have a thrilling and tasty visit to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia. From multiple tours of Harpers Ferry historical sites to rafting down ...
REMEMBER: ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday, April 17 2023, 6:30 PM
Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library
151 Polk Street, Bolivar, WV
Meet some of the people who help protect and promote the towns we love and get an early peek at exciting grant opportunities we are pursuing plus other activities we have planned to further our mission in 2023.
There will be a short business meeting, during which we will meet and vote in new board members of the Foundation. We will also be presenting the Foundation’s 2023 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award to a worthy project that has taken shape in our towns during the past year followed by a presentation by Lynn Pechuekonis on her book "Man of Sterling Worth: Professor William A. Saunders of Storer College," plus a brief teaser about research for her upcoming new book on the Lovetts.
(Photo by Lynn Pechuekonis)
Here's a great article from the Washington Post
The MARC train from Union Station to West Virginia is a gateway to a weekend getaway full of history, hiking, shopping and local food and beer.
It's Bluebell Season In Harpers Ferry! 😍
(Virginius Island, Photo by Lynn Pechuekonis)
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Monday, April 17 2023, 6:30 PM
Bolivar-Harpers Ferry Public Library
151 Polk Street, Bolivar, WV
Meet some of the people who help protect and promote the towns we love and get an early peek at exciting grant opportunities we are pursuing plus other activities we have planned to further our mission in 2023.
There will be a short business meeting, during which we will meet and vote in new board members of the Foundation. We will also be presenting the Foundation’s 2023 Excellence in Historic Preservation Award to a worthy project that has taken shape in our towns during the past year followed by a presentation by Lynn Pechuekonis on her book "Man of Sterling Worth: Professor William A. Saunders of Storer College," plus a brief teaser about research for her upcoming new book on the Lovetts.
Saturday, April 22, 8 a.m. Mark your calendar!
Great new story about a local family on our blog. Check it out!
A friend of the Foundation, Chris Schilling, reached out to us with his family history in Bolivar and some delightful photos from the past.
Great work by the folks over in Fairmont!
On July 10, 2022, Fairmont’s Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church got a big surprise for their 120th church anniversary. Dr. Mark Staples, Senior Pastor, had sought out the owner of their...
Here's another sweet Harpers Ferry love story.
Delores Jackson Foster
"My Well-Respected Friend Is Gone" - A Harpers Ferry Love Story. On the Foundation blog this week.
William A. Saunders was the longest serving Black professor at Storer College in Harpers Ferry, but hisfascinating life story includes a sweet love story with a tragic ending.
Check out our blog to learn about progress on a great new local trail!
Over the past year, the Trail and Town Alliance has made great progress caring for and building trails in Woodpecker Woods.
Attention commission members of Certified Local Governments in West Virginia: the West Virginia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is holding free virtual training sessions on various preservation-related topics starting in February.
The topics include preservation in your communities, architectural history & styles of West Virginia, financial incentives for preservation, and many more. Thank you to the SHPO for providing this wealth of information to CLGs across the state!
Mark your calendar for this informative local history event next month.
The Bolivar/Harpers Ferry Library will be hosting a program on the History of Storer College on Friday, February 24 at 6pm, presented by Melinda Day, NPS Lead Park Ranger. -- Signed copies of "Man of Sterling Worth: Professor William A Saunders of Storer College" by Lynn Pechuekonis will also be available for purchase.
Proceeds from the sale of this set will go to the Foundation!
Congratulations to the folks restoring the Halltown Chapel!
Today the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced that the Halltown Memorial Chapel Association has been awarded a grant to fund the restoration of the chapel through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund’s Preserving Black Churches program.
According to the press release from the National Trust for Historic Preservation:
Halltown Memorial Chapel is a unique example of stone religious architecture in West Virginia, Halltown Memorial Chapel was constructed in 1901 by African American volunteer carpenters and stone masons living in Jefferson County. The community will use the grant to restore the chapel to its original condition, open it for community events, and help spur Halltown's revitalization. (https://savingplaces.org/stories/preserving-black-churches-grant-recipients-2023)
The chapel, also historically known as Halltown Union Colored Sunday School, is on the National Register of Historic Places—the nomination can be viewed here:https://wvculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Halltown-union-colored-sunday-school.pdf
In addition to the church restoration project, the Association is working to restore the Halltown African-American Free School (1870). Donations can be sent to:
Halltown Memorial Chapel Association
73 Smith Manor Drive
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
The Halltown Memorial Chapel Association extends sincere thanks to everyone who is supporting efforts to restore the chapel and schoolhouse. Questions about the restoration efforts can be emailed to: [email protected].
Photo taken by Commissioner Addison Reese, September 10, 2021.
A new winter event in Jefferson County this year!
Do you have your tickets for our special events this weekend?
See also the Cemetery Lantern Walk at https://historicharpersferry.org/event/cemetery-lantern-walk-dec-10/
PURCHASE TICKETS Visit five historic homes and inns in Harpers Ferry all decked out for the holidays! During the second Saturday of Harpers Ferry’s annual Olde Tyme Christmas celebration, hosts ...
December 10 is a perfect day to visit Harpers Ferry!
Start with the Holiday Tour of Historic Homes & Inns at 10 am, followed by a 4pm Christmas parade in Bolivar, and the Cemetery Lantern Walk at 6 pm.
Before you call it a night, check out the Holiday Lights tour spanning both towns. You might as well spend the night in town so you can shop Olde Tyme Christmas on Sunday!
https://historicharpersferry.org/event/holiday-historic-home-tour/
https://historicharpersferry.org/event/cemetery-lantern-walk-dec-10/
https://experienceharpersferry.com/event/holiday-light-tour-4/
https://experienceharpersferry.com/2022/07/28/december-11/
Olde Tyme Christmas kicks off tonight!
887 Washington Street
Harpers Ferry, WV
25425
Monday | 9am - 1pm |
Tuesday | 9am - 1pm |
Thursday | 9am - 1pm |
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