View of Harpers Ferry, Va., circa 1860

Harpers Ferry, Virginia, nestled between the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, was an important manufacturing and milling center in the 19th century, and a key transportation hub served by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The community became a part of West Virginia in 1863 when that new state joined the Union during the Civil War.