The Gibson-Todd House was the site of the

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, the abolitionist who led a raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia before the opening of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The property is located in Charles Town, West Virginia, and includes a large Victorian style house built in 1891. The house was built by John Thomas Gibson, who led the first armed response to Harpers Ferry during Brown's raid as commander of the Virginia Militia in Jefferson County. Gibson went on to serve as an officer for the Confederacy. After the war he was mayor of Charles Town. Among those present at Brown's hanging were

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

John McCausland John McCausland, Jr. (September 13, 1836 – January 22, 1927) was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. Early ...

J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...

and John Wilkes Booth. When the old Jefferson County jail was demolished, Gibson saved stones from the building and built a monument to the event on the property. The house post-dates Brown's hanging. The house was designed by Thomas A. Mullett, son of

Alfred B. Mullett Alfred Bult Mullett (April 7, 1834 – October 20, 1890) was a British-American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Office of the Supervising Architect, Supervising Architect, head of the government agency, agency of the United States Treas ...

. Mullett also designed the New Opera House and the new Charles Town jail.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Houses in Charles Town, West Virginia Victorian architecture in West Virginia John Brown sites Houses completed in 1891 National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia 1891 establishments in West Virginia {{JeffersonCountyWV-NRHP-stub