MORGAN'S GROVE PARK

From Morgan’s Spring, near the park, on July 16, 1775, Captain Hugh Stephenson and his company began the famous “Bee Line March to Cambridge.” They traveled 600 miles in just 24 days to join up with George Washington’s Continental Army in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Today, the area surrounding the start of their heroic march is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, the Secretary of the Army designated Morgan’s Grove as the birthplace of the United States Army.

The spring house pictured above and located in the park is the only remaining structure of Fountain Rock, Alexander Boteler’s family mansion which was destroyed by Union forces in 1864. Boteler was elected to the Confederate Congress and served as an aide to General Stonewall Jackson. The spring is the main contributing water source for Town Run which flows through Shepherdstown into the Potomac River.

The turn of the century saw the park used as a fairground, drawing thousands from across the country to Jefferson County. Morgan’s Grove park today provides pavilions, hiking trails, soccer fields and a playground.

Location: WV480 – 0.5 miles south of Shepherdstown

“Nowhere . . . was there a more prompt and determined response to the fervid appeal of Patrick Henry than the patriotic citizens of Shepherdstown showed . . .”
Honorable Alex Boteler, “My Ride to the Barbecue” – 1860