Today is Thanksgiving (27 November), and it is sunny and about 55 F. Allie and I set off from Vienna, Va. for the short drive to Harper’s Ferry. I drove to Leesburg along the Dulles Airport Toll Way and then took Highway 15 to Point of Rocks, Md. where I crossed the Potomac River. Just north of the road bridge, I turned on to Highway and drove along to Route 340, which took me across the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers to Harper’s Ferry.

I turned into the National Historical Park and drove down a long winding road to the lower town. I did a quick drive around the area, and then up High Street to the Hilltop House Hotel (www.hilltophousehotel.com). I had booked a room in the main hotel building and stopped here to pick-up my room key before setting off with Allie to walk through the lower town.

We walked down High Street to the centre of the lower town. Here we toured through the streets along the waterfront. There were three points of interest:

• The arsenal established by George Washington to provide weapons to the US Army after the American Revolution;
• The factories that supplied river craft for Lewis and Clark in 1803 for their historic trip across to the Pacific Ocean; and
• John Brown’s fort that was the starting point for Brown’s unsuccessful uprising to end slavery.

The arsenal is no longer standing as it was destroyed during the Civil War, although much of its machinery and stores were moved by Confederate troops to equip a new factory and outfit some of the troops of the CS Army of Northern Virginia. There are numerous plaques marking the sites of factories, the arsenal and buildings of the antebellum town. Harper’s Ferry was very much an industrial town supplying the federal government with weapons and other materiel. After the war, some of the townsfolk returned, but not the industries, and several severe floods discouraged efforts to re-build the town, including one in 1996.

The so-called John Brown Fort has been maintained and is located near the railway bridge across to Maryland Heights. There are also plaques commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Other buildings include the US Provost Marshall’s offices, the armoury’s quartermaster’s house (now an information centre) and two stores with window displays of the 1850 to 1860 period.

Allie and I spent about two hours walking the area before heading back to the hotel. Allie wanted her dinner and a nap. I took my bags into the hotel and freshened up for dinner. Despite cool temperatures, a steady breeze and overcast skies, it was a warm walk with Allie setting the pace for most of the foot tour.

The hotel was built in 1888 and sits on the top of the heights overlooking the Potomac River and Maryland Heights. The hotel is the only one of its kind within the old town. It has a commanding view of the confluence of the two rivers, and through the trees, of the lower town. I ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner following my afternoon walk. It was very busy as many people like to dine here and some waited 45 minutes for a table. The chef cooked 21 turkeys, lots of roast beef, and other dishes. There was plenty of fresh bread and desserts prepared by the baker. I tried the pumpkin pie and carrot cake, which were both very good.

After a leisurely dinner, I walked Allie, read my Antietam and Shenandoah Valley brochures and wrote this article. Allie took me towards the (contiguous) town of Bolivar, which was established in 1825. The name was also given to the heights along which the CS troops of Major General TJ “Stonewall” Jackson and those of US Colonel DS Miles faced each other 12-15 September 1862.

Then it was lights out and dreamtime.