Shepherdstown is a town in
Jefferson CountyJefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...
,
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located along the
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. It is the oldest town in the state, having been chartered in 1762 by Colonial Virginia's
General AssemblyThe Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
. Since 1863, Shepherdstown has been in West Virginia, and is the oldest town in that state.
The town's population was 803 at the 2000 United States Census. The town is home to
Shepherd UniversityShepherd University, formerly Shepherd College, is a state-funded university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. The University currently serves more than 4,200 students.- Accreditation :...
.
Geography
Shepherdstown is located at 39°25′55"N 77°48′22"W (39.432005, -77.806108), along the
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
in the
Eastern PanhandleThe Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia is a narrow stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia, United States. The Eastern Panhandle Board of Realtors and other local civic organizations consider only the three Easternmost counties, Jefferson, Berkeley and...
of
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²), all land.
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, excluding Shepherd University's resident student population, there were 803 people, 410 households, and 168 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,217.7 inhabitants per square mile (861.2/km²). There were 454 housing units at an average density of 1,253.8 per square mile (486.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 80.20% White, 17.19% African American, 0.50% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
There were 410 households out of which 13.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.8% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.8% were non-families. 41.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.96 and the average family size was 2.72.
In the town the population was spread out with 12.5% under the age of 18, 19.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $40,750, and the median income for a family was $55,000. Males had a median income of $35,833 versus $30,139 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $28,539. About 7.5% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.
Geology
Bedrock exposures of
CambrianThe Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from Mya ; it is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established by Adam Sedgwick, who named it after Cambria, the Latin name for Wales, where Britain's...
-aged
ConococheagueThe Conococheague Formation is a mapped Appalachian bedrock unit of Cambrian age, consisting primarily of limestone and dolomite. It occurs in central Maryland, southern and central Pennsylvania, northern Virginia and easternmost West Virginia....
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and
dolomiteDolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
are frequent in the town, and form cliffs between the settled area and the Potomac River.
History
Colonial settlers began their migration into the northern end of the
Shenandoah ValleyThe Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
in the early 18th century. Many crossed the
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
at Pack Horse Ford, about one mile (2 km) down river from the site of Shepherdstown. The Colony of Virginia began issuing Valley land grants in the 1730s. In 1734, Thomas Shepherd was granted 222 acres (898,000 m²) on the south side of the Potomac (then called the Potowmack), along the Falling Spring Branch (now known as the Town Run). From that tract he selected 50 acres (202,000 m²) and laid out a town. Naming his town Mecklenburg, he petitioned the
Virginia General AssemblyThe Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
for a charter, which was granted in 1762. Thomas Shepherd was the sole trustee, owning the town and being responsible for its government. A second charter, which allowed for self-government, was granted by the
Commonwealth of VirgininaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1794. In 1798, the corporate limits were extended and the name was changed to Shepherd's Town. After the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the town's name was officially contracted to Shepherdstown.
More than six natural springs feed Town Run before it enters the south end of town. It never floods, nor runs dry; it meanders through backyards, under houses, across alleys and beneath five streets. This setting was conducive to millers, tanners, potters, smiths and other artisans. As a result, by 1775, the town boasted 1,000 inhabitants.
In 1775, General
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
issued a call for "Virginia Volunteer Riflemen." Captain Hugh Stephenson filled the ranks of his company here. The troops departed from "Morgan's Spring," about one-half mile (1 km) south of the town limits, on July 16, 1775. This famous "Beeline March to Cambridge" covered 600 miles (1000 km) in 24 days. Thirty-eight
RevolutionaryThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veterans are buried in the surrounding area.
On December 3, 1787,
James RumseyJames Rumsey was an American mechanical engineer chiefly known for exhibiting a boat propelled by machinery in 1787 on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown, now West Virginia, before a crowd of local notables, including Horatio Gates...
conducted a successful trial of his new invention, the steamboat, in the Potomac at the north end of Princess Street. The first newspaper, The Potomac Guardian and Berkley Advertiser, and book, The Christian Panoply, in what is now
West VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, were published here (1790s). The Shepherdstown Public Library has a copy of the book.
Shepherdstown was the birthplace of
Robert LucasRobert Lucas was the 12th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio, serving from 1832 to 1836. He served as the first Governor of Iowa Territory from 1838 to 1841.-Early life:...
(1781), the future governor of Ohio and territorial governor of Iowa.
The portion of the
Chesapeake and OhioThe Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
(C&O) Canal along the
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
side of the
Potomac RiverThe Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
across from Shepherdstown was built during the 1830s. Shepherdstown is the only town in what is now the state of West Virginia to have a canal lock named for it. Lock No. 38 is the "Shepherdstown Lock."
Two free schools were built in the town in 1848. One still stands, on the southeast corner of Princess and New Streets. When West Virginia became the 35th state (in 1863), these became the oldest free schoolhouses in the state.
The Hamtramck Guard (The Shepherdstown Light Infantry) was dispatched to nearby
Harpers FerryHarpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
to subdue
John BrownJohn Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
's raid on the
federal armoryHarpers Ferry Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, was the second federal armory commissioned by the United States government located in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia , the first federal armory being the Springfield Armory located in Springfield,...
(October 1859). At the outbreak of the Civil War, this group became Company B,
2nd Virginia InfantryThe 2nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in today’s West Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought as part of the Stonewall Brigade, mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia....
,
Army of Northern VirginiaThe Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
. They become part of the famous "Stonewall Brigade."
After the nearby
Battle of AntietamThe Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
in Maryland, September 17, 1862, General
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's infantry crossed the Potomac at Pack Horse Ford. The town was overwhelmed with 5,000 to 8,000 casualties of that battle. Every house, building, church, alley, and street was filled with the wounded and dying. The
Battle of ShepherdstownThe Battle of Shepherdstown, also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September 19–20, 1862, in Jefferson County, Virginia , at the end of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
(also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford or Cement Mill) occurred on September 20, 1862, during Lee's retreat. More than 100
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
soldiers died here and were buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Elmwood's hallowed ground contains the graves of 285 Confederate veterans, and offers its own self-guided walking tour. The graveyard is located five blocks south of the 4-way stop on Route 480.
From 1865-1871, Shepherdstown served as the county seat of Jefferson County due to war damage to the courthouse in
Charles TownCharles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:...
. The Town Hall (northeast corner of German and King streets) housed the courthouse until it was moved back to Charles Town.
In 1872, the Town Hall Building was chartered as a "Classical and Scientific Institute." The building was then leased to the state and Shepherd College was born. The East Campus occupies about one-third of the town proper, and the West Campus occupies a large area just northwest of the corporate limits.
The clay soil in the area was conducive to brick making. By the late 1790s, there were several commercial brickyards, and kilns could be built with little difficulty. In many instances, bricks were "burnt" at the construction sites. They were plentiful and cheaper than nails. Roofing material affected the market value and the insurance premiums of the brick structures. Those covered with tile were much more valuable then those topped with wooden shingles. Fires starting in the shingles destroyed many brick homes, mills, stores and outbuildings.
The
Shepherdstown Historic DistrictThe Shepherdstown Historic District comprises the historic core of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The town is the oldest in West Virginia, founded in 1762 as Mecklenburg. No structures are known to exist from the time time before the town became known as Shepherdstown...
was established and added to the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973, with a boundary expansion to include the entire town in 1987.
On January 3, 2000, Shepherdstown was the site of the Peace Talks between
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
where both sides were urged to make the hard choices needed to end a half-century of conflict.
Currently
Presently, many of the town's historical buildings on German Street are home to quaint little shops and cafés. The town is also home to many local artistic and theatrical groups, many of which are affiliated with
Shepherd UniversityShepherd University, formerly Shepherd College, is a state-funded university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. The University currently serves more than 4,200 students.- Accreditation :...
or operated by youth groups. Shepherdstown also boasts an active nightlife of fine dining and live music. Monthly
contra danceContra dance refers to several partnered folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines...
s are sponsored by
Shepherdstown Music and Dance.
The patriarch of the Shepherd family, Henry P. Shepherd, died July 4, 2007 at
BellevueThe Van Swearingen-Shepherd House, also known as Bellevue, is a Colonial Revival mansion in Shepherdstown, West Virginia that is home to the descendants of Captain Thomas Shepherd, founder of Shepherdstown. The house, situated on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River, was built in 1773 by Thomas...
, the family home. He is survived by an older sister, Elizabeth, still resident in Shepherdstown, as well as a younger brother Thomas, resident of Massachusetts, and dozens of nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
Sites on the National Register of Historic Places
| Site |
Year Built |
Address |
Listed |
| Boidstones Place Boidstones Place, also called Greenbrakes and Fountain Rock, was built in 1766 by Thomas Boydston near Shepherdstown, West Virginia on land he was granted by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron...
(Greenbrakes Farm) |
|
Shepherd Grade |
1999 |
| Cold Spring Cold Spring is a house near Shepherdstown, West Virginia, childhood home to two United States Representatives. The house was built by Edward Lucas III and his son, Robert in 1793. It is a two-story house of coursed ashlar stone masonry....
|
1793 |
CR 17 |
1973 |
| Elmwood Elmwood is a Federal style house near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Located on land claimed in 1732 by Edward Lucas II, it was built in 1797 by his son, Edward Lucas III. During the Civil War the house was used as a field hospital. It remained in the Lucas family until 1948. -External links:*, at...
|
1797 |
CR 17 |
1973 |
| Falling Spring-Morgan's Grove Falling Spring at Morgan's Grove is part of a related complex of buildings and lands associated with the Morgan family and other prominent members of the Shepherdstown, West Virginia community. Falling Spring was completed by 1837 as a large, porticoed stucco house and farm complex...
|
|
WV 480 |
1989 |
| Fruit Hill Fruit Hill, also known as the Robinson-Andrews-Hoxton House is a Greek Revival house near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The original two-story stone house on the property was probably built by Henry Cookus circa 1766. This house was built over a watercourse, assuring a reliable supply of water on...
(Robinson-Andrews-Hoxton House) |
|
Shepherd Grade |
1988 |
| Captain William Lucas and Robert Lucas House The Captain William Lucas and Robert Lucas House, also known as Linden Spring, is a large stone house near Shepherdstown in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. It was built circa 1783 for Captain William Lucas, a Revolutionary War soldier...
(Linden Spring) |
1793 |
CR 31 |
1982 |
| James Marshall House (Marshall Hall) |
|
Shepherd Grade |
1988 |
| Morgan's Grove Morgan's Grove is a rural historic district near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The area is noted for its abundant springs. Several historic houses and farms are included in the district, including:...
|
|
WV 480, WV 230, Morgan's Grove Road |
1999 |
| Morgan-Bedinger-Dandridge House The Morgan-Bedinger-Dandridge House, also known as Poplar Grove, then Rosebrake, is part of a group of structures affiliated with the Morgan's Grove rural historic district near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The house was known as Poplar Grove until 1877. The original building was built circa...
(Rosebrake) |
|
WV 48 |
1983 |
| Rockland Rockland, also known as Verdier Plantation, Schley Farm and Knode House, was built by James Verdier between 1771 and 1785 near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Verdier was a Huguenot, the son of a French silk weaver, who married Lady Susanna Monei and came to North America to escape religious...
|
1897 |
WV 480 |
1990 |
| Rose Hill Farm Rose Hill Farm, also known as the James-Marshall-Snyder Farm, is a double-pile, two story brick farmhouse with Greek Revival features near Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A log house on the property was built circa 1795, while the brick house was built around 1835. It is believed that the log house...
(James-Marshall-Snyder Farm) |
|
Off WV 48 |
1990 |
Rumsey HallRumsey Hall, also known as the Entler Hotel, is an historic building in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The building is located in the center of the Shepherdstown Historic District and is a composite of six separate phases of construction. The earliest portion was built in 1786, and was the home...
(Entler Hotel) |
late 18th century |
German & Princess Streets |
1973 |
| Shepherd's Mill Shepherd's Mill is a gristmill in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, located on Town Run just as it descends to the Potomac River. The mill was built some time prior to 1739 by Thomas Shepherd, Sr. as a two-story structure. The original millwheel was probably a wood overshot wheel...
(Thomas Shepherd's Grist Mill) |
|
High Street |
1971 |
Van Swearingen-Shepherd HouseThe Van Swearingen-Shepherd House, also known as Bellevue, is a Colonial Revival mansion in Shepherdstown, West Virginia that is home to the descendants of Captain Thomas Shepherd, founder of Shepherdstown. The house, situated on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River, was built in 1773 by Thomas...
(Bellevue) |
|
Shepherd Grade |
1983 |
Notable residents
- Robert Lucas
Robert Lucas was the 12th Governor of the U.S. state of Ohio, serving from 1832 to 1836. He served as the first Governor of Iowa Territory from 1838 to 1841.-Early life:...
(1781–1853), born in Shepherdstown, was a governor in Ohio 1832–1836 and Iowa 1838–1841
- John James Abert
John James Abert was a United States soldier. He headed the Corps of Topographical Engineers for 32 years, during which time he organized the mapping of the American West....
, (1788–1863), born in Shepherdstown, was a topographical engineer and founder of the National Institute of Science
- Danske Dandridge
Caroline "Danske" Dandridge was an American poet, historian and garden writer.Dandridge was born on November 19, 1854 in Copenhagen, Denmark to Caroline Lawrence Bedinger and Henry Bedinger III, the United States' first ambassador to Denmark...
(1854–1914), poet, writer, and historian
- Edwin Gray Lee
Edwin Gray Lee was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Lee family and second cousin of Robert E. Lee.-Biography:...
(1837–1870), born at Leeland, near Shepherdstown, Confederate brigadier general, lawyer, and relative of Robert E. Lee.
- Frances Meehan Latterell
Frances Meehan Latterell was an American plant pathologist whose research in the late 1940s opened a major new area of inquiry into the physiological basis of plant disease...
(1920–2008), plant pathologist, retired in Shepherdstown
- Danielle Corsetto (b. 1981), artist, caricaturist, and creator of the webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
Girls with Slingshots
- Courtney Cummz
-Biography:Her first job was a waitress at an Applebee's franchise. She later worked in a nudist resort as a cocktail server where she worked topless. While at college she studied Fashion Design and Marketing and has only to do her internship to earn her degree....
, AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pornographic actress, born in Shepherdstown on December 4, 1981
- Peter Tompkins
Peter Tompkins was an American journalist, World War II Office of Strategic Services spy in Rome, and best-selling occult author....
, (1919–2007), was an American journalist, World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) spy in Rome, and best-selling occult author.
External links