Flat Karsun arrived in Martinsburg, West Virginia just in time to get snowed in.  We got 30 inches of snow! It took several days for the roads to be cleared enough to get out to see the sites of Martinsburg and the surrounding area.

First, Flat Karsun went to Tuscarora Presbyterian Church, which was started in 1740 and has gun racks in the back of the church because the settlers brought their guns to church in case of attacks from wild animals or the local Native Americans. The stone building in the picture was originally built in 1803, but it’s been added to over the year

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Flat Karsun then visited the Caperton Train Station with the B & O Roundhouse and Station Complex which used to include 2 round houses that were used to turn trains around.  It was built in the 1870s to replace the original round houses burned down during the Civil War by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.  One of the pictures shows a MARC train that takes people to Washington, D.C. and back.

Next we stopped by the Belle Boyd House.  Belle is known for being a confederate spy who passed important information to Stonewall Jackson even at risk to her own life.  She was arrested and imprisoned a few different times by Union soldiers.

Last, Flat Karsun visited Harpers Ferry, WV, where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet and form the point at which Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland all meet.  Harpers Ferry is the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail.  The C & O Canal also goes through Harpers Ferry on its way from Cumberland, MD to Washington, D.C. as it follows the Potomac River.  Harpers Ferry is the site of John Brown’s raid on an armory in the hopes of encouraging slaves to rise up against the Union Army before the Civil War. His plan didn’t work.  Also there is a rock named for Thomas Jefferson, who believed the view of Harpers Ferry from that rock was “worth the voyage across the atlantic.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Rock)

After Martinsburg, Flat Karsun is going to travel to visit with friends of ours in Emporia, Kansas.  Enjoy your journey, Flat Karsun!