John Brown hides out at Kennedy Farm, preparing to attack Harpers Ferry

Chestnut Grove Road

October 16, 1859

Categories: African American, Arts, Civil War, Culture, Politics, Rural
Tags: 1817 – 1860, Washington County

John Brown (1800-1859) leaves the Kennedy Farmhouse in Washington County with a party of 22, including Black supporters, and crosses the Potomac to raid the Harpers Ferry U.S. Arsenal and foment a rebellion of enslaved people.
The failed raid is the most important spark leading to the Civil War. Brown rents the Kennedy Farm from August to October as a secret staging area to prepare for the raid. Next to the surviving Harpers Ferry Firehouse, the restored Kennedy Farm is the most important building associated with the famous raid.
Between 1950 and 1966, the IBPOE (Black Elks) owns the property and builds several buildings for large holiday celebrations. The Elks also rent the property out for performances by the biggest national Black entertainers on the “Chitlin Circuit”.

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John Brown Raid Headquarters

Visit: Kennedy Farmhouse, Chestnut Grove Road, Washington County

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