The Shepherdstown Historic District comprises the historic core of

Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River. Home to Shepherd University, the town's population was 1,734 at the time of ...

. The town is the oldest in West Virginia, founded in 1762 as Mecklenburg. No structures are known to exist from the time before the town became known as Shepherdstown. The historic district is concentrated along German Street, the main street, with 386 contributing resources and 69 non-contributing elements. The chief representative period is the late 18th century, with many

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

brick houses. German Street is also furnished with 19th-century "street furniture" such as metal fences, mounting blocks, wooden pumps and mature trees. The town has a significant place in American history.

James Rumsey James Rumsey (1743 – December 21, 1792) was an American mechanical engineer chiefly known for exhibiting a boat propelled by machinery in 1787 on the Potomac River at Shepherdstown in present-day West Virginia before a crowd of local notables ...

made a public demonstration of a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

in 1787 on the nearby

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

. Shepherdstown was proposed as the National Capital in 1790, losing to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, and

Georgetown, Maryland Georgetown is an unincorporated community in northeastern Kent County, Maryland, United States. The community was laid out in 1736. Georgetown was named for Prince George who later became King of the United Kingdom. Georgetown is located on the ...

, at the tidal headwaters of the Potomac. During the Civil War, Shepherdstown was in a pivotal position, with Confederate forces burning the

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

over the Potomac in 1861, then using nearby Pack Horse Ford to and from the Battle of Antietam. The entire town became a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

following this action. Later, Union troops occupied the town to preserve the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

link to the west. Some of the more significant elements are: * Baker House, a Federal style brick house with a

Roman Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

porch, dating to the 1790s. It was the home of

US Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

John Baker John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to: Military figures *John Baker (American Revolutionary War) (1731–1787), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named *John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal ...

. * The Great Western Hotel, owned by Jacob Entler. Originally a log structure, it was extensively modified in the early 19th century. * The Presbyterian Manse, a brick Federal style or Classical Revival house, home of John Kearsley, a prominent local landowner. * Trinity Episcopal Rectory, a Federal style house that was a home of John Baker, as well as

Thomas Van Swearingen Thomas Van Swearingen (May 5, 1784 – August 19, 1822) was a U.S. Representative from Virginia. Biography Born near Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia), Van Swearingen attended the common schools. He served as member of the State H ...

. * The Lane House, a Federal style house once owned by Harriet Lane, niece and hostess for President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

. * The Sheetz House, a Federal style house where muskets were manufactured during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. * The Old Market House, the town's former market built in 1800, with stepped gable ends. A second story was added in 1845 by the Odd Fellows with a 999-year lease. The first floor has been a public library since 1922.

* McMurran Hall, a yellow brick

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

building in the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

, which served as the Jefferson County Courthouse immediately after 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 ...

. It was later the first building used by

Shepherd College Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the university enrolled 3,159 students in Fall 2020. History Shepherd University began when the county seat of Jefferson ...

. * The

Entler Hotel Rumsey 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 ear ...

, a thirty-two room complex, which is itself on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. * The Shepherd District Free School, a public school on the campus of Shepherd University, built in 1868. * The Chapline-Shenton House, built in 1793 on the site of the original Sheetz gunnery, and bought in 1818 by Captain William Delyea, stepson of General

William Darke William Darke (1736 – November 26, 1801) was an American soldier who served with British forces before the Revolutionary War. He served with British regulars commanded by Major General Edward Braddock in his 1755 expedition to the French-cont ...

. Congressman Van Swearingen lived in the house during the winter. During the Civil War the house was used as a hospital following the battle of

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union ...

. * The Weltzheimer Tavern, which housed the ''Potowmac Guardian and Berkeley Advertiser'' in 1790, the first newspaper published in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. The newspaper was operated by Nathaniel Willis, grandfather of

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

and a participant in the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea ...

. In 1808 the building became known as Weltzheimer's Tavern. * Shepherd's Grist Mill, itself listed on the National Register of Historic Places. * Billmyer House, a Federal style house that served as an inn, and home of Col. John F. Hamtramck, a figure in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

The historic district was expanded in 1987 to include properties from the late 19th century, including the Register Building, the Opera House and the Jefferson Security Bank. The expansion also includes Elmwood Cemetery, with a large number of Civil War graves. Outer portions of the expanded district include

American Foursquare The American Foursquare or American Four Square is an American house style popular from the mid-1890s to the late 1930s. A reaction to the ornate and mass-produced elements of the Victorian architecture, Victorian and other Revival styles popul ...

and

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

styles of housing. The older portions of the Shepherd University campus are also included.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Federal architecture in West Virginia Neoclassical architecture in West Virginia Greek Revival architecture in West Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, West Virginia Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia Historic districts in Jefferson County, West Virginia Houses in Jefferson County, West Virginia Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia