Murphy Farm Loop and the Shenandoah River
Full Marathon
Start at Harpers Ferry Visitors Center (Shoreline) –turn right onto Campground- right onto Murphy to Murphy Farm Loop- follow a sand
pebble lane to a cliff that overlooks the Shenandoah River then turn around and retrace your route back to the Visitors Center – follow
Shenandoah Rd in the wrong direction into the town of Harpers Ferry – continue straight till the road ends at John Browns Fort on
your right.
Alexander Murphy purchased the 99 acre property in 1869. The property had been confiscated by Union forces in 1862 and the house was
heavily damaged. Mr. Murphy helped to preserve John Brown’s Fort. The original Murphy Farm House was built after acquisition in 1869.
The structure has been renovated by the NPS.
The Farm was the site of John Brown’s Fort after it had a curious journey from its original location in the Lower Town. It was removed
from the town in 1891 and taken to the World’s Columbia Exposition in Chicago where it was dismantled and left abandoned. In 1893
it was shipped by the B&O Railroad back to Harpers Ferry and it Alexander Murphy offered to house the structure on his farm as part
of a business arrangement.
In August of 1906 the fort was the site of a pilgrimage by members of the Niagara Movement, the first modern civil rights organization
in America.
Shenandoah River Shore Line
The Farm Loop trail passes the shore of the Shenandoah River which drains about 3,000 square miles of the Shenandoah Valley and it
is the largest tributary of the Potomac River.
George Washington first crossed the river as a sixteen year old surveyor’s apprentice in 1748. He was accompanied by George William
Fairfax whose father, Colonel William Fairfax had title to all the land which was then known as the Northern Neck. Their mission was
to plat out the Fairfax holdings along the South Branch of the Potomac.
Retired general George Washington, embarked on another journey to the “back country” in 1784 to see his property and visit with friends
from his French and Indian War days in the region. He crossed over a ridge in the Blue Ridge, Vestal’s Gap, and crossed the river,
probably at Keyes Ferry, to stay with his brother, Charles, at Happy Retreat. This home and Harewood, owned by Samuel Washington,
another younger brother, is still standing in Charles Town WV.
George Washington had purchased property in what is now known as Summit Point south of Charles Town in 1750. This land was known as
the “Bullskin Plantation”. He built a small stone house on the property and visited stayed there when visiting his land.