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Jefferson County, WV
About Jefferson County
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Jefferson Rock
Shenandoah Canal
Shepherdstown
Entler Hotel
Rumsey Monument and Tobacco Warehouse
Morgan's Grove Park
Peter Burr House
Charles Town
Jefferson County Courthouse and Museum
Zion Episcopal Church
Happy Retreat
St. George's Chapel Ruins
Harewood
Cedar Lawn
Claymont Court/Blakeley
Middleway Historic District
Berkeley County, WV
About Berkeley County
Martinsburg
B&O Roundhouse & Station Complex
Belle Boyd House
Berkeley County Courthouse
Triple Brick Museum
General Adam Stephen House
Green Hill Cemetery
Van Metre Ford Bridge
Bunker Hill Mill
Morgan Chapel
Morgan Cabin
Gerrardstown Historic District
Hays Gerrard House
Mill's Gap
Sleep Creek Wildlife Management Area
Hedgesville Historic District
Mt. Zion Episcopal Church
Snodgrass Tavern
Morgan County, WV
About Morgan County
Spruce Pine Hollow Park
Berkeley Springs
Dutch Cemetery
Throgmorton's Inn
Bath Historic District
Berkeley Springs State Park
George Washington's Bathtub
Roman Bath House & Museum of the Berkeley Springs
Washington's Lots
Sir John's Run
Panorama Overlook
Great Cacapon
Camp Hill Cemetery
Paw Paw
Paw Paw Tunnel
Coolfont Manor House
Cacapon State Park

Washington Heritage Trail



JEFFERSON ROCK


Jefferson Rock is comprised of several large masses of the sedimentary rock known as Harpers shale piled one upon the other. Located within the boundaries of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, it is accessed today by a somewhat steep climb up old stone stairs just above St. Peter’s Church. The rock was fortified with four stone pillars in the late 19th century. The natural view from the rock today is the same as it was when Thomas Jefferson stood upon this spot on October 25, 1783—the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers and the cut they make in the first line of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The mouth of a railroad tunnel and restored town are manmade additions.

“The passage of the Potowmac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature. You stand on a very high point of land. On your right comes up the Shenandoah having ranged along the foot of the mountain a hundred miles to seek a vent. On your left approaches the Potowmac, in search of a passage also. In the moment of their junction, they rush together against the mountain, rend it asunder and pass it off to the sea . . . This scene hurries our senses into the opinion that in this place . . . the rivers have been dammed up by the Blue Ridge . . . and have formed an ocean which filled the whole valley . . . This scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic . . . to survey these monuments of a war between rivers and mountains which must have shaken the earth itself to its center...”
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia – 1785.

 



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